


No Chance

by iCheeseYou



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Boys' Love, Eventual Fluff, Love/Hate, M/M, Road Trips, Top!Luke, Vacation, bottom!Michael
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-10
Updated: 2014-09-26
Packaged: 2018-02-04 04:55:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 72,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1766284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iCheeseYou/pseuds/iCheeseYou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So Ashton's going on a road trip with his friend, Calum, and he invited me to tag along. Being the adventurous shit I am, I said yes, but I wouldn't have if I knew that Luke Hemmings was going as well. God, I hate that guy, and the feeling's mutual. Why does that annoying brat have to come along? And Ashton and Calum expect us to be friends? Yeah, right. There's no chance that Luke Hemmings and I, Michael Clifford, are ever going to get along.</p><p>Dedicated to Elmo Dork from Quotev.</p><p>© 2014 iCheeseYou</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"When's lunch?" I asked Ashton, my best friend, while I was stuffing random things in my locker. I pulled out a history book, and then closed my locker.

"It's after fourth period," Ashton answered, leaning against some lockers.

"I'm craving pizza right now." I rubbed my stomach and then licked my lips. Ashton laughed and shook his head. Suddenly someone bumped their shoulder against mine, causing me to drop my book.

"Watch where you're going, Clifford," hissed a voice. I don't even have to look up to recognize whose annoying voice it is.

"I'm not the one walking, Hemmings!" I snapped back. "You watch it!" He ignored me by talking with his friends.

God, stupid Hemmings. Luke Hemmings is his name. I don't know what his deal is, but ever since this school year started, he's been hating on me. The first thing he did was make fun of my hair, saying how it didn't fit me at all. I didn't care at first, but then he made fun of the clothes I wear. We literally have the same taste in style! Then as the school year continued on he'd just throw snarky comments at me, and it pisses me off so much.

"I am so ready for our one week break," I told Ashton as I picked my book up off the ground, and then we started heading to our first class.

"Same here," Ashton said. "A friend of mine and I are going on a road trip to travel around for a couple of days."

"Damn, you're lucky. I'm stuck at home by myself doing absolutely nothing."

"Well, my friend did say that I could bring a friend along, so... do you want to come with?"

"Hm, maybe. I'll think about it. Give you an answer at lunch." We walked into our classroom and took a seat in the back. "Do you have any idea where you guys are going?"

"Not a clue. We'll just be driving around. Hopefully we'll have a plenty of money with us."

"And both of your parents are completely okay with you guys driving around."

Ashton nodded, pulling out a pencil from his backpack. "Yeah, they're totally cool with it. Ask your mom if you can go. If you could, then that'd make the trip a hundred times cooler!"

"Okay, I'll ask. I mean, a road trip? That sounds like it'll be fun." Our teacher, Mr. Yarnton, walked into the classroom, silencing the chattering students. His loud voice boomed throughout the room, telling us to take our textbooks and flip to some random page. 

-

I absolutely hate my fourth period class. Why? Because that's the only class that I had with stupid Luke Hemmings. And also because it's English.

I don't know why, but the teacher, Mrs. Twist, thought it was a good idea to give the class a seating chart and make Luke sit right behind me. Behind me. I mean, wouldn't it have been better if he sat as far away from me as possible? If you could, Mrs. Twist, could you make Luke's seat in a shark tank? That'd be great.

Mrs. Twist gave the class a worksheet to work on. Something about Shakespeare, I guess.

I don't only hate this class because of Luke, but because English is the most difficult for me to keep a B grade.

"Hey, freak," Luke whispered behind me. God, this guy's getting on my nerves. I decided to ignore him and I continued working on the worksheet.

Why did Shakespeare write Hamlet?

The fuck should I know? Because he was bored. That's what I wrote down.

"Yo, freak, I'm talkin' to ya." Luke kicked the back of my seat, and I stared ahead, groaning. I turned around to look at him.

"What, Hemmings?" I seethed. He just smirked.

"Your hair's looking extra whacked up today. Don't you think it's about time you do everyone a favor and shave your head?"

"I like my hair just the way it is, but thanks for the suggestion." I twisted back around in my seat and resumed back to working. I don't know squat about Shakespeare other than he's dead, but trying to figure out the answers to these random questions is a whole lot better than talking to the brat behind me.

God, I can't wait for this day to be over. Then it'll finally be break, and I can be as far away from Luke Hemmings as possible. It's bad enough I have to deal with him at school. I definitely need a break away from that twat. 

-

The bell rang and I handed my BS'd paper to the teacher and sprinted out of the classroom, eager to get to lunch. As I made my way out of the room, I was pulled aside and slammed against the lockers. I looked into the eyes of who was pinning my hands against the lockers.

"Where do you think you're going, Clifford?" Luke growled. "I'm not done with you."

"But I am," I retorted. "Now move it or else I'll knee you where the sun don't shine."

"Is that a threat I'm hearing? Oh, I'm sooo scared." I was expecting him to punch me in the face, like he sometimes does, but he didn't. He just stared at me before releasing me and dusting himself off. "I don't want any freak germs on me."

"You should've thought about that before you got your bratty hands on me." An idea came to mind. I spread my arms out and started approaching him. "Does Lukey want a hug?"

"As if anyone would want to hug a freak like you, Clifford." Then Luke was going down the hallway. I don't know why I even bother with this guy. I should just ignore him, no matter how many times he continuously pushes my buttons.

I made my way to the cafeteria, well ran there. Because of the idiot who held me back, I'm losing precious lunch time. Hopefully there's still some pizza left. 

-

"You're later than usual," Ashton said as I took a seat across from him. He was eating spaghetti, like he always eats for lunch here.

I managed to get the last pizza slice. It was just plain cheese, but it was better than nothing.

"Yeah, sorry. I was caught up in something," I began, not even bothering to go into detail unless Ashton asked, and usually he does.

"With what?" Just like that.

"Stupid Hemmings was keeping me from getting to the cafeteria. He's lucky that there's still pizza left, because if there weren't I would've beaten him up."

"I know just as well as you do that you'd never hurt a fly." I sighed. Sadly, he's right. If there was a fly in my room, I'd somehow shoo its way outside. Once I killed a spider that was chilling on my desk, and I mourned for its death for a few minutes. Okay, I didn't cry over the spider's death, but I repeatedly said sorry to it. My mom thought I was crazy that day.

"Whatever." I took a bite from my pizza. When I looked up at Ashton, I noticed his eyes had widened.

"Michael, move!"

But I must've been too late, because water was being poured over my head. I dropped my pizza onto my plate and stood up from my seat, turning around to none other than Luke Fucking Hemmings.

"Oh, look. The freak's hair's all wet," he feigned a pout, and then his friends around him gave him high fives. I grabbed Ashton's chocolate milk carton, and dumped that over Luke's blond quiff. Let's see how he likes having damp hair.

"Mikey!" Ashton gasped, bringing his hands to his mouth. He rushed over to me and pulled me out of the cafeteria, carrying our backpacks over his shoulders, as Luke cursed out loud. Even though I wouldn't hurt anyone, it doesn't mean I wouldn't do something back. I'd still find a way to get back at whoever does something to me first.

Remembering the horrified look on Luke's face, a smug smile formed on my lips. I don't regret a thing.

While I left the cafeteria Aleisha, who I assume was Luke's poor bitch, blew up at me for ruining his hair. Not my fault, is it? His hair would still be up and pretty if he just stayed the fuck away from me.

Ashton pulled me into the restroom and set our backpacks down. He took me over to the hand dryer and told me to stick my head under it. I just shrugged and did as I was told. It's just water. It'll dry up and it won't feel all gross after. However I cannot say the same for Luke. He's just more unlucky than I am, I guess. He messed with the wrong person, so I'm simply giving him his own medicine.

"You should've just ignored him," Ashton said, running his fingers through my wet hair, trying to get rid of the water. Some of the water got onto my shirt, so I pulled it off while I could and flapped it around.

"I don't know what his problem is," I began. "He started it. I was simply ending it."

"No, you just made things worse. Next time, be the bigger person and walk away." I muttered an okay. I'm not even going to argue with Ashton. He knows better than I do. Unlike me, he thinks twice before doing his actions. I don't hurt people physically, no. But if Luke approaches me again I'll make him an exception.

When Ashton told me that my hair was the dry enough I stood up straight and put my shirt under the dryer.

We heard footsteps and a bunch of cursing from outside the restroom. Then the door shot open and it revealed a drenched Luke and his buddy. I forget his name. It's probably Caleb or something.

Luke glared daggers at me before Caleb took him to the sink. He dipped his milked head under the faucet and let the water run.

Caleb glanced up at Ashton and gave him a smile. Ashton waved at him, and then turned to me.

"Let's go," Ashton whispered to me. I slipped my shirt on and picked my backpack off the ground. Ashton and I decided that we should head to class. Thank God we had the next class together, Maths. And you know what's better? No stupid Luke is in that class. If I had one more class with him I'd shoot me and him both.

We walked to our lockers and switched out our books, and then headed to our next class. We saw that there were some people already chilling there, eating their lunch at desks.

Speaking of lunch, I abandoned mine in the cafeteria. Whatever, I'll eat at home.

The last classes seemed to drag on, but school was finally done with and we were now on a one week break. I thought I was going to die before I made it to the vacation. I was super grateful that none of my teachers assigned any homework. I'd die over the break from homework overdose. Maximum homework I can have for break: zero.

I went to my locker to put my books away. When I opened it, I saw a brown bag sitting on the top shelf. I cocked an eyebrow at the bag, because it sure as hell wasn't mine. I put my books away and took the brown bag out. It could've been another prank by Luke, revenge for ruining his hair. I aimed the opening of the bag away from me, and then opened it. When nothing happened I peeked inside.

There was a chicken sandwich in there along with apple juice and a banana. Also, there was a folded up paper inside. I took the paper out and opened it up so I could look at it.

_It's for you. Happy eating! - Ashton Irwin_

Well, that explains how this bag got into my locker. Only Ashton and I know my locker combo.

I met Ashton up at the front of the school.

"Finally! Break is here!" I exclaimed. He looked down at the bag in my hand.

"Oh, you got lunch?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was in my locker," I looked down at the bag. "Thanks, by the way." He raised an eyebrow.

"For what?"

"This," I brought the bag up. "You left a note in here, saying it was for me from you." He blinked at me. "Chicken sandwich? Apple juice? Banana? Anything ringing a bell?"

"Uh, I don't bring lunch to school. Plus, if it was from me, I would've gotten you pizza." My eyes widened, but then I shook my head.

"Whatever, free lunch." I stuffed it into my backpack, and began walking with Ashton to his car.

Whoever gave this bag to me, thanks. Even though it was completely unnecessary to pretend to be Ashton.

I'm not entirely worried about the person knowing how to access my locker, because I got food. Plus all I ever put in there are books.

We climbed into Ashton's car and got ourselves set. Then he started to drive out of the parking lot. I ate the sandwich quietly. I think I'll leave the banana for Ashton. I know how much he likes them.

Oh, and just to let you know, the sandwich was really good.


	2. Chapter 2

My mom couldn't care less about what I was into. I could tell her I was going to jump off of the Sydney Bridge and into the water and she'd still say 'go ahead' or 'be safe'. Yeah, as if I'd survive a fall like that. I'd die just from the impact. Not to mention I'm not the best swimmer there is, so even if I didn't die from hitting the water, I'd surely drown within seconds.

So I told my mom that night about the road trip, and I earned a grunt of some kind of approval from her. So I guess I can notify Ashton.

I ran up to my room and jumped onto my bed. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and immediately began to dial Ashton

After two rings he finally picked up. "Y'ello?"

"Purple," I said, gaining a snort from him.

"That's pathetic."

"Then don't make colors the first thing to say when answering my calls. Anyway, my mom said yeah. To the vacation, I mean."

"I expected an okay. Anyway, we're leaving tomorrow morning at eleven. We're meeting up at my place. Don't be late!"

"If it means I'll be out of the house, then I'm showing up an hour early. What do I bring? Just clothes?"

"Uh, yeah. We were planning on stopping by at a lake to swim at, but..." He trailed off, because I knew he didn't want to say what else was on his mind.

"Yeah, I know," I sighed. "I'll bring clothes and some shower stuff as well."

"Great! Okay, I need to pack. I just got my bag out of the closet. Call you tomorrow!"

"Okay, see ya." Then we ended the call and I set my phone on the nightstand by my bed. It's a good thing Ashton lives close by, or else I'd have to bug my mom to take me to his place, and I know how much my mom doesn't like driving me around.

I went to my closet and pulled out a bag to stuff my things in. I threw in about four outfits, because that should be plenty of clothes for the trip. I decided to get the bathroom supplies in the morning, because I need them tomorrow.

When all my clothes were in the bag, I went downstairs and saw that there was a dinner plate, wrapped up. I walked over to it and took off the clear wrapping. This is how my mom gives me food: wraps it up and sets it on the table. It gets cold, so I have to heat it up in the microwave.

Honestly, would it kill if my mom could make some effort of trying to spend time with her only son? Guess so.

Once the food was heated up, I took it up to my room. I set it down on my computer desk, and immediately went on my laptop.

I was on Facebook when I noticed that there was a friend request for me. I opened it up and looked to see who sent it to me.

Some guy name Calum Hood.

I clicked on the name to see who this Calum was before I do any accepting.

I saw his profile picture and there was a guy with his arm hooked around another guy, and I recognized the two right away.

It was Luke and Caleb. Well, it's Calum now.

This guy's Luke's friend. But why would he send me a friend request?

Oh, I see now. Luke probably wants to use his account to torment me over the internet as well. But Calum never did anything to me. It was always Luke. Sure, he'd laugh at the idiot's stupid jokes- if I can even call them that, because they just suck that badly- but never had Calum did anything.

Whatever, I'll just accept his request and see how things turn out. If I receive something that could be related to Luke then I'm blocking him.

I went on my newsfeed and saw that Ashton recently posted a status. Something about getting a paper cut. And it already had twenty likes in two minutes.

Calm down, people, it's just typical Ashton being his clumsy self. It's not like the Queen of England decided to come over to his place and have dinner with his family.

But Ashton is pretty popular. Unlike myself. I only get attention from others when Luke calls me out in a sea of students.

I decided that I'd shoot Ashton a message.

_Michael: ur so clumsy, yknow that_

_Ashton: haha it was my homework's fault ok shut up. so what's up?_

_Michael: just eatin dinner. it's just green beans and mashed potatoes ew. but idc im starved_

_Ashton: fatty_

_Michael: thats not nice :(_

But I laughed anyway. He's obviously joking. Well, he better be.

_Ashton: im sorry honey. so you excited about tomorrow?_

_Michael: yep im packed already. just need my shower stuff and then im all set_

_Ashton: awesome. i just need to grab some boxers and then im good to go_

_Michael: okay well im gonna eat now cya tmrw_

_Ashton: what no kiss?_

_Michael: since when do i give you kisses weirdo. bye_

_Ashton: i see how it is >:( but i still love ya mate. later!_

I never said Ashton was perfect. He's Ashton. He's never perfect. He's perfect at being Ashton, but then again... who is?

I finished my dinner and brought it to the sink in the kitchen. Mom usually washes them, so I'll just leave it.

I went up to my room again and saw I had a message. It's probably Ashton sending me another message. I opened it up, but it wasn't from him.

_Calum: hey sorry abt luke today. did u get the lunch?_

I blinked.

"Oh," I mouthed. "It was him."

I decided to answer him and then add a question.

_Michael: uh yeah how did you get in my locker?_

_Calum: ways. and that's good._

I didn't reply to him after. The fact that he got into my locker is now bothering. I hope he doesn't take anything. If he steals my textbooks (which no one would do unless you're a nerd and are desperate for a book) then I might have to move my things to Ashton's locker.

I changed into some shorts and shut my laptop off. I walked into the restroom to brush my teeth. Once I finished I headed off to my room. I turned the lamp by my bed on so I'd still have some light in my room before I go to sleep. I shut off the room lights and jumped into bed and threw the covers over me. I plugged my phone into the charger. Maybe I should bring the portable charger to the trip. Just in case. And its charger.

I turned the lights out and then just stared up at the dark ceiling, thinking about the trip. I hope that it'll be fun. Well, of course it is. We're going wherever the road takes us. As long as we know where we are, Ashton, his friend, and I will be fine.

I closed my eyes and just let sleep take over me. 

-

I was up by eight thirty the following morning. I was done showering and was cleaned up by nine fifteen. Ashton said to meet up at eleven, but when I said I was showing up an hour early I was serious. I just want to get out of this house already.

I packed my bag with my bathroom supplies and chargers for my phone and the portable one. I grabbed my wallet and looked inside it, finding I only had a five. My mom usually keeps spare money in the master bathroom, so I'll grab some cash from there. She doesn't care I'm sure. She did say to use the money when necessary. This trip is necessary. It'll get me out of this boring house.

I stuffed my wallet with a bunch of twenties and then shoved my wallet into my bag. My phone was already in my pocket, but I patted my pants to make sure it was there.

Oh, I should probably get some earbuds as well. Just in case I want to listen to some music.

I headed downstairs to grab a bowl of cereal before I start heading to Ashton's house. He lives just the street over, but it's about a fifteen minute walk.

I ate some Cinnamon Toast Crunch, because that cereal is just the bomb. Don't judge.

I shouted bye to my mom and she didn't respond. I rolled my eyes, slung the bag over my shoulder, and left the house at around nine thirty.

I'm pretty stoked about this road trip. I can't wait to see all the attractions that I've only seen in pictures. Oh, and babes. I'm going to see hot girls.

I arrived at Ashton's house finally. Being the good friend I am, I just walked into his house. We always do this, so it's normal for both our families.

"Hey, I'm here!" I called out. I saw Ashton sprinting down the stairs, jumping the last steps.

"Hey, Mikey!" he greeted. He pulled me into a hug and then let go of me. "My friend's going to be here soon. He's bringing a friend of his, too. Maybe you'll be friends with them."

"Yeah, maybe. That's if they're friendly to me."

"And we can be a group! Best of friends who rule the school!"

"Yeah, no. Let's stick with friends."

Ashton shrugged and led me to the kitchen. His brother and sister were sitting there, eating pancakes. They greeted me and I waved at them. Lauren, Ashton's little sister, told me to sit by her and eat some breakfast.

"Oh, no. I already ate, but thanks for the offer."

"Come on, Mikey, I know you want some." He is right about that, but it's their breakfast, and I don't want to eat up everything.

"Seriously. I'll just be in your room." And with that I left the kitchen and went to Ashton's room.

I sat on his bed and pulled out my phone. Then I laid down, still looking at my phone.

It's a good thing I brought my earbuds. I plugged them into my phone and began listening to some songs. The first song that came up was 5SOS's Disconnected.

I really like that band. Their music is awesome. It'd be so cool if I was in that band.

Tch, yeah right. As if I'd ever have a chance. Not even in another lifetime.

I was connected to Ashton's wifi, so I took that opportunity to look through my Facebook to see if I had any notifications.

There was one message that popped up. And it was from Calum. He sent the message an hour ago.

_Calum: see ya later mate_

I raised an eyebrow. Did he mean to send that to me? Maybe it was meant for Luke. M and L are next to each other, so I don't know.

I saw from the corner of my eye that Ashton had entered the room.

"My friend's here!" he exclaimed. "Come meet them!" Then he scurried out of the room. I reluctantly got off of his bed and walked out of his room. When I was about to leave through the front door Ashton came in and pushed me back inside. "On second thought, it's just my neighbor. I thought it was them."

"Uh, okay?" I said in a form of a question. I was about to walk back in before I heard a voice.

"Hey, Ashton! Where'd you go?" Ashton winced at the voice, and cursed.

"Who's your friend?" I asked, trying to see who was outside, but Ashton stepped in the way.

"You know what?" he began. "Maybe a road trip's a bad idea. Let's go bowling! Yeah, bowling! You'll see a lot of girls at the alley, I bet!"

"You're being strange. It's not like there's anything to hide." I pushed past him and stepped outside. My eyes widened when I saw who his friend was.

"Hey, it's you!" the kid shouted as he approached me, stepping out of a mini van. "Nice to meet you personally. You may know me, but I'll introduce myself. I'm Calum Hood."

I turned to Ashton who was covering his face in his hand. "That's what you were hiding?"

"No," he squeaked. "It's... his friend..."

I furrowed my eyebrows before turning around to look at the van. The person who climbed out of the passenger seat stopped in his tracks and stared at me. My eyes widened and I couldn't move.

"You!" he yelled, menacingly. I saw Calum facepalming himself and Ashton hiding his face behind his hand again.

I'm spending an entire road trip with Luke Hemmings?

Oh, fuck no.


	3. Chapter 3

"Are you kidding me?!" Luke growled as he grabbed hold of his hair, and made a one-eighty turn. He walked to the car and slammed his head against the car, and then looked over at Calum. "If you mentioned this was coming, that would've been great!"

"Hey!" I yelled. "I'm not happy about this either!" I glare at Ashton. "Ashton! Why didn't you tell me that he was going to be here?!"

"I just found out when they pulled into the driveway," he shrugged sheepishly.

"Luke," Calum began, "it's okay. If you want me to take you home, then I'm completely cool with that."

"No, I'm going," Luke stated. "I'm not letting that freak ruin my break." My blood was boiling, and I wanted so badly to punch people, and that's rare.

"Likewise, Hemmings," I retorted as I pulled Ashton inside the house.

"Mikey, I swear, I didn't know he was going to be here!" he explained.

"Well, the least you could've done was tell me who your friend was."

"You never brought it up..." I let out a groan and just rubbed my hands over my face. "L-Look, Mikey, just pretend that he isn't even there."

"Oh, that'd be easy if he didn't say rude things to me, but that idiot can't keep his big mouth shut for a second." Then Calum and Luke walked in, standing a few feet away from me and Ashton. Then I remembered something. "You knew I was going to be here," I said to Calum.

"Wait, you knew?" Luke glared at Calum who just shrugged innocently.

"I thought it'd be the best way for you two to get along?" he laughed.

"No!" Luke and I yelled at the same time. We glared at each other before looking away. I crossed my arms over my chest and I heard him huff.

"Well, there's no choice now," Ashton sighed. "If we want to make this trip fun, then you two, Michael and Luke, are going to have to get along."

"Yeah, right," Luke groaned. "Like I'd get along with that."

"Who'd want to be friends with a stuck-up snob like that brat over there?" I added. Calum and Ashton stood beside each other.

"Lukey, you gotta have a positive attitude about this," Calum said. "I mean, maybe if you two got along, then there won't be so much tension."

"Yeah, Mikey," Ashton began. "Besides, Calum and I are friends."

"You guys are different. At least you don't hate each other's guts for no absolute reason."

"Oh! You think I hate you for nothing?!" Luke snapped. "I don't like you because you're a freak!"

"No! Reason! See what I mean, Ash?!"

"You two need to get along!" Ashton yelled. "I should've told you guys before, but Calum and I some sort of buddy arrangement. It was way before I knew that he was coming along."

"I have a name," Luke muttered.

"Nobody cares!" I snapped at him.

"Anyway," Calum cleared his throat, "the buddy arrangement is that every night we are to room with other people. Tonight it'll be Michael with Ashton and Luke with me. The next night it'll be Michael with me and Luke with Ashton. The third night it'll be Ashton with me and Luke with-"

"No! Change it!" Luke exclaimed.

"I'm not rooming with him!" I shouted.

Calum just shook his head. "Luke, I neglected to tell you that Michael was coming, and it was for a good cause! Ashton told me last night that Michael was going, and then the wheels in my head turned." He then looked at me. "I thought this was the perfect opportunity for you two to finally end your stupid feud. You two are always fighting for nothing, and I want it all to stop."

"Calum's right," Ashton said. "You two need to stop fighting. If you two just got along, then everyone will have fun on this trip, and maybe you two will become friends."

"No chance," Luke and I said. We glared at each other again before groaning and stomping away in different directions, him going into the kitchen while I stormed off into Ashton's room.

I entered his room and plopped onto the bed, a groan escaping my throat.

I can't believe I have to go on a trip with freaking Luke Hemmings. It's bad enough I dealt with him since the beginning of the year, but now I'm stuck with him for God knows how long! I'm sorry, Calum, but your plan has so many flaws in it.

There's no way, no chance, that Luke and I are ever going to get along.

"Michael?" I looked at the door and saw that Calum came into the room.

"What do you want?" I said, annoyed.

"I know it doesn't seem like a good plan, but trust me. Do you want your war to stop for good?"

"If he just left me alone and stopped making his stupid remarks, then things would've been fine." I sat up straight. "Shouldn't you be talking to Luke?"

"Ashton's talking to him. He's trying to be friends with him, and I'm trying to be friends with you. Now, if you two won't be friends, can you two at least try to not fight? That's the least you two could do."

I bit my lower lip. I could do that, but I wasn't sure if Luke could. I nodded anyway, and Calum smiled.

"Awesome. Now, we're leaving in about an hour. Luke and I will be downstairs eating breakfast with Ashton's siblings. Do you want to join us?"

"Mm, no thanks. I already ate. I'll just stay up here. Besides, if I went into the kitchen Luke would probably do something-"

"Michael..." I closed my mouth before I could finish. He sighed, "Either Ashton or I will be back up here to tell you when we're leaving." I nodded before Calum finally left. I laid back on the bed and pulled my phone out to listen to some music. Then I closed my eyes for a bit, just letting the music take over.

I decided, I'm not backing out of this trip. I don't care if Luke is going. He's not going to make me leave no matter what he does. I have to deal with him for the entire trip? So be it.

-

We packed some snacks into the backseat and put our stuff in the trunk. It's a good thing we all each have four bags. At least we didn't bring luggages. Like seriously, who needs to bring their entire closet just for a trip that'll last for about a week?

It's two hours in the drive, and the only talking that ever occurred in the car was when Calum was giving Ashton directions.

Ashton was in the front driving and I was sitting in the passenger seat. Calum sat behind me, and Luke was sitting behind Ashton. He and I were trying to stay as far away from each other as possible. I was looking out my window, and I'm assuming Luke was as well.

"So, Calun, where to next?" Ashton asked. Calum was holding a map, last time I saw. I heard the rustling of the paper.

"Straight ahead the road should split off into two. I think we'll take the one on the left."

"Because you're never right," Ashton joked.

"Shut up." I just smirked at that. It was horrible, but it was funny. "Let's take a quick bathroom stop at the next rest stop we see." I heard Ashton grunt and then the ride was back to silence.

After ten minutes Ashton pulled over by the next rest stop. Calum was the first to sprint out of the vehicle. I assumed the reason he wanted to take a bathroom break is because he needed to go.

Ashton said he was going as well, so he climbed out of the car.

And now it was just me and Luke left.

I stole a quick glance at him. He was still looking out the window. There's nothing interesting on his side. He obviously just wants to avoid me.

I didn't want to be here alone with him, so I removed my seatbelt and opened the car door.

"Heh, sick of me already?" I turned my head to face him, and he had a sickening smirk on his face. "I knew you'd leave. You don't want to be alone with me."

"It's pretty evident that I don't want to be within a mile of your radius," I shot back.

"If you didn't want to be here, you could've just stayed back. Not go on this trip with Calum, Ashton, and me. I think it would've been better if you never even showed up."

"Okay, you know what?" I slammed the car door and shifted myself around so that I was now facing him. "I have no idea what your deal is, but just because you're here doesn't mean I want to leave. I'm staying whether you like it or not."

"Same here. So for a week we're stuck together." Ew, together. "Just don't get your freak germs all over me."

"Likewise with your snobby attitude."

"Hey, you got something on your head." My hands dared for the top of my head. "Oh, that's just the dog that you call your hair."

I glowered at him. "I'm going to ignore you. Don't even talk to me. Don't even look at me." I twisted back around so I was facing forward. I put my feet on the dashboard and then pulled my phone out of my pocket. I unwrapped my phone of the earbuds cord. From the reflection I could see Luke, and I swear he was staring at me through my phone.

"I can do that, but it seems you can't since you're checking me out via your phone."

"Don't fucking flatter yourself, Hemmings." I pressed the power button to turn my phone on. The first thing I did was look through my apps to see if I had anything interesting to use. When nothing came up I just went to music to listen to some more 5SOS.

"Hm, you're a fan?" I heard Luke say before I plugged both earbuds into my ears. As Heartbreak Girl began to play, one of my earbuds got pulled from my ear.

"Dude!" I yelled.

"I asked you a question, freak."

"I'm not going to answer brat." He leaned forward in his seat and grabbed my phone. "Hey-!"

"You have all their songs?" he asked. I felt one of his hands slightly pulling my seat back. I turned and saw that he had a hand placed on the shoulder of the seat farthest from him. He was scrolling through my music. "This song's good, Don't Stop."

"Why are you bothering me, Hemmings? Leave me alone!"

"Say it in Swahili and maybe I will."

"I don't know Swahili!"

"Well, sucks for you, freak." He unplugged the earbuds from my phone and took it with him to the backseat.

"You brat!" I leaped out of the passenger seat and at him to retrieve my phone. He was holding way in the back, so I had no choice but to press against him.

"Say please in Cantonese!" Luke laughed, stretching my phone out an away from me.

"Seriously, this isn't funny!"

"I think this is hilarious." My knee was in between his legs, so I did what I had to do.

Strike him where the sun don't shine.

He dropped my phone onto the seat next to him and doubled over, his chin hooked on my shoulder. I shoved him off, picked up my phone, and went back to my seat in the front.

"That's what you get, you fucking dick."

"All that and I get freak germs rubbed off all over me and knee'd in the groin," he groaned. I rolled my eyes and decided that I should play some Flappy Bird.

I gave up on the game minutes later. Luke was still recovering and Calum returned to the car.

"Peeing has never felt better in my life," he sighed in satisfaction.

"I'll be right back," Luke said as he opened the car door. "I need to make sure my balls are intact."

"What are you-" But before Calum could finish Luke had already left the car. I could feel Calum's glare on me, so I slowly turned around in my seat. "What did you do?"

"He started it!" I protested. "I was minding my own fucking business and then he suddenly steals my phone! I simply gave him what he deserved."

"No man deserves a kick in the balls."

"Luke's no man. He's a brat. Just keep him away from me, please."

"No can do. Remember the buddy arrangement?"

"Why did you have to make a buddy arrangement?" I groaned and rubbed my eyes with my hands.

Ashton finally appeared and sat in the driver seat. "Mikey, what did you do to Luke?"

I rose my hands up. "Why do you think-"

"He was hobbling." I bit my lower lip. Ashton then gasped. "Oh, no. Mikey, please tell me you didn't."

"He did," Calum muttered, deadpanned.

"He deserved it," I said.

"Yeah? And what did he do that was worthy of that cruel and unusual punishment?"

"He was harassing me! He took my phone and wanted me to speak Swahili and Cantonese just to get it back!"

"Really?" Ashton raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah!"

"Cantonese?" Calum asked. I groaned and slumped into my seat. Music, I need music. I plugged the earbuds back into my phone and went back to listening to music. I think I'll listen to some All Time Low instead. I closed my eyes and just paid attention to the melodic sounds.

I couldn't hear any noise other than the music, but I knew Luke had returned. I felt the car lean towards the passenger side and the vibration of a door slamming. I peeked an eye open and looked at him through the reflection on my phone. He was glaring right at me.

Ashton started driving out and we were back on the road.

I still do not regret my actions. That fucking brat deserved it.


	4. Chapter 4

I've no idea where we are, but as long as Calum knows then we're perfectly fine. I think.

We were six hours into the drive since our last stop, and we decided to stop by at a fast food restaurant to eat. There was a motel nearby, so we decided to crash there for the night.

After we ate at McDonald's, we went to the motel and asked to stay in two rooms for the night. The guy up front told us that each bedroom had two beds, so that worked with Calum's stupid buddy arrangement perfectly. Ashton paid for the rooms and he was given the keys for Room 136 and Room 138. We carried our bags and found the rooms. Ashton wanted Room 136, so he and I claimed that room.

"Luke and I'll take Room 138 then," Calum said, motioning Luke to follow. I hadn't looked at the idiot blond since I saw him glaring at me through my phone.

Honestly, the guy is so immature.

Ashton took the bed closest to the restroom, just in case he needed to pee overnight. I took the one closest to the window. It was a sliding glass door, but there was a fence that separated the person from falling to their death. We were only one floor above the ground and in the middle of nowhere, so the view wasn't much. Unless you're into watching cars drive on the highway, then this is the perfect bed for you.

"You gonna shower?" Ashton asked as he began to remove his shirt.

"Nah, I'll shower in the morning," I said. Ashton pulled out some pyjamas from his bag and shower supplies and headed into the bathroom. I set my bag at the end of the bed and began pulling out my pyjamas and my toothbrush and toothpaste. Then there was a rapping sound. I set my things on the bed and stood up to go to the door, but then I realized that the knocking wasn't coming from there.

"Ashton! Michael!" came a voice I recognized as Calum. It sounded as if it came from somewhere within the room. I spun around, and I just noticed that there was a door in between my and Ashton's beds. I approached the door and unlocked it. It suddenly swung open in my direction, and I jumped back. "Took ya long enough!" Calum said as he entered our room.

"Uh, hello," I said awkwardly. Before I could close the door Luke walked in, smashing something soft and gooey against my neck. My hand darted for where he had put it, and I touched it to see what it was.

Hair gel. That freaking dick.

I walked into the restroom, because Ashton always leaves it unlocked. I grabbed a towel and wiped the gel off of me.

I walked out and saw that Calum was sitting on Ashton's bed, looking through his things that were in his bag. "Batman. How interesting."

Luke, much to my dismay, was on my bed. If I told him it was mine he'd freak out how he needs to shower immediately to remove all the freak germs.

Hm, no, I'll let him figure it out. Time is all I need to get all the 'freak germs' on him.

I took a seat at a chair that was next to the dresser. Calum noticed that and frowned.

"Come sit with me!" he exclaimed. "Let's look through Ashton's things together!"

"Did you say something, Mikey?" Ashton called from the shower. Calum slapped his hand over his mouth, holding in a laugh.

"I said nothing!" I shouted back.

"What?"

"It's not important!"

"Huh?"

"Just take your damn shower!" Calum was snickering behind his hand, lying onto his back.

"Wait, be right back," he whispered as he stood up and crept into the bathroom. I don't know what that kid is going to do. I looked at Luke from the corner of my eye. He was tapping away on his phone and he was sitting with his legs crossed on my bed. He didn't seem to mind that he was on my bed.

"I think I'm going to brush my teeth," I said out loud, although I don't know why.

"Like I give a rat's ass," he retorted. I glowered at him. What a freaking br-

"AAAHH!"

"HOLY MOTHER-!" My eyes darted for the restroom and Calum was running out, laughing and clutching his stomach.

Ashton walked out with a towel around his waist, his body dripping water onto the floor.

"You son of a bitch!" he exclaimed as he hopped onto a laughing Calum, not caring that his bed was getting soaked.

"I had to! Your door was unlocked!" Ashton jabbed at Calum's sides, causing the brunet to squeal.

While Ashton attacked Calum I grabbed my pyjamas, toothbrush, and toothpaste from my bed, earning a glare from Luke as he stood up from the bed. Of course he'd do that. I didn't expect him to stay put, anyway. I headed into the restroom and put my things on the counter. I might as well just brush my teeth now. There's nothing else for me to do, but get ready for bed.

"DID THEY EVER FIGHT LIKE US?! YOU AND I! WE DON'T WANNA BE LIKE THEM-"

"SHUT UP, CALUM!"

I'll give them ten minutes before someone bangs on our door or sends someone up here to get them to be quiet.

I shook my head and then began applying toothpaste onto my toothbrush.

When I started cleaning my teeth the restroom door opened and walked in stupid Luke.

He closed the door and then turned so I was in his eyesight. He froze and then groaned in frustration.

"You just had to be in here," he spat.

"This is my restroom," I snapped back, the toothbrush still in my mouth. "You should've know I'd be in here."

"I don't pay attention to everything you do. Don't think the world revolves around you."

"Your motto must be 'Do as I say, not as I do', because you're a self-centered brat yourself."

"And you're a freak."

I rolled my eyes before spitting out the foamed toothpaste and rinsing my mouth out with the water. I used my shirt to wipe the water that was dripping off of my chin. I glowered at Luke. "Just get out. Why are you even in here?"

"Ashton and Calum are in a small brawl," he answered.

"And you couldn't have gone to your room?"

"No."

"Why?"

"That's enough. I don't have to answer to you."

"Brat."

"Freak."

"Just get out."

"With pleasure." Then Luke stormed out, making sure he slammed the door on his way out. I rolled my eyes. I can't believe I have to deal with this guy for a freaking week. You might as well just let me drown.

I finished brushing my teeth and changing into my pyjamas. I held my other clothes in my arms left the restroom to see that Ashton was sitting on Calum's back, keeping him pinned to the ground.

"Uncle! Uncle!" Calum yelped. Ashton just laughed before standing up and helping the brunet up. Calum then excused himself into the other room. Ashton was about to close the door, but then Calum appeared at the doorway again. "Keep it open. Just in case."

"I don't think that's a good idea," I said, looking into the room at Luke as he glared back at me. There was no doubt that he was going to pull something in my sleep. I wasn't going to take any chances.

"Come on, Mikey. It'll be fine."

"Yeah, Mikey, it'll be fine," Luke repeated in a high pitched voice. Calum turned to him.

"I don't sound like that," he said.

"Like this?" Luke still was using that annoying voice that he thinks sounds like Calum's. While the two were arguing about how Calum sounds like, I walked over to the door and slammed it shut.

"I'm going to put on some clothes," Ashton informed me as he walked over to his bag. "Wait, who touched my Batman boxers? It's unfolded." I just shrugged before hopping onto my bed.

"Do you have a bag for dirty clothes?" I asked Ashton. The next thing I knew I got hit in the head by a balled up bag. I glared at Ashton who was whistling. "Thanks."

"Mhm." Ashton slipped on a pair of boxers before removing the towel from his waist. He used the towel to dry his hair. With the towel draped over his shoulders, he walked into the restroom, probably to collect his clothes.

I pulled my phone from my jeans and set it next to me before I opened the laundry bag and stuffed my clothes inside. I threw the bag over to Ashton's bed, but it hit the edge and then fell to the ground. I searched through my bag for my phone charger. Once I found it I located an outlet and plugged it, putting the charger into my phone. My phone was wrapped around by my earbuds, so I unwrapped it and listened to some songs by 5SOS.

_She's dropping out of school 'cas she don't need the grade_

_The colors in her hair don't seem to fade_

_I get dressed up when I go out_

_But she gets dressed down_

My head bobbed to the rhythm of the music. I swear, these guys are probably one of the best bands ever. I closed my eyes and laid down on the bed. I was lying still, the only movement coming from me was when my chest was rising due to me breathing.

When the song ended, I heard someone calling me.

"Mikey!" My eyes shot open and I pulled an earbud from my ear, looking over at an almost naked Ashton who was standing by the light switch.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Good night," he smiled. Then he turned the lights out and jumped onto his bed. There was still some light in the room from the one coming through the window.

A new song on my phone was playing, She Looks So Perfect, but I cut the music so I could get some shuteye myself.

I pulled the other earbud out from my ear and set my phone aside. I threw the comforter off the bed, because I know what places do with them. Or rather, what they don't do.

I snuggled under the sheets, trying to keep in as much body heat as possible. I closed my eyes slowly, clearing my mind.

Well, trying to clear my mind.

I kept thinking about how tomorrow I'll be going through another day with Luke. And it's going to last for a week. An entire week with Luke.

I can barely stand a day with him. But I made it through today, so I guess I deserve a pat on the back for that. He didn't bother me THAT much, but he's still an annoying brat.

Thinking about this makes me want to shoot myself. Going back to clearing my mind.

Damn it, now I can't stop thinking about this.

But who knows? Maybe this trip won't be so bad. As long as he stays out of my way, I'll stay out of his.

Ugh, but then there's Calums' freaking buddy arrangement thing. What was going on in that head of his when he was making that? I have to stay in the same room as Luke? Yeah, right, and then we'll magically get along, right? I'm sure there will be a dead body on the ground, and it could be either one of ours. I could pull a prank on him that'll result in him dying, or he does one on me.

A loud snore, no doubt Ashton's, echoed throughout the room. I forgot, he snores. I want to throw a pillow so badly at Ashton and get him to shut up. Rooming with Luke is out of the question. Maybe tomorrow when I'm with Calum things will be better. No stupid Luke and no snoring Ashton. Peace and quiet for once.

Maybe. I wouldn't know anything about him. We literally just met earlier today.

I turned over onto my side, looking out the window. My mind went blank as I watched the cars go by. Seriously, there isn't another rest stop for another many kilometres. I don't know how the drivers can stay awake all night.

Knocking was heard at the door. There's no question about it, it's Calum. I'm not opening the door. I need to sleep. Well, Ashton needs sleep way more than I do, considering he's the one who's going to be behind the wheel all day.

The knock turned into loud banging. I feared that it'd wake Ashton up, since he groaned and shuffling of sheets was heard. I grumbled to myself, something about Calum 'not knowing when to shut up', and went to the door to open it. Calum, of course, was standing on the other side, holding a deck of cards.

"Wanna play Egyptian Ratscrew?" he asked, bringing the cards up to my face. I cocked an eyebrow and looked into the room. Luke was already asleep, thank God.

"Sure, but not in our room," I told Calum. "Ashton's asleep."

"But Luke's asleep, too."

"Ashton's driving."

Calum's face twisted in thought. "Good point. Let's play by my bed." I followed him and he sat down on the floor so his back was to his bed. I sat across from him and watched as he shuffled the cards. Then he started giving me every other card. Once the cards were all passed out, we began the game. "You know how to play, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded when he slapped a card down, revealing a two. I put mine down, and it was a Jack. Then he put down his card, but it was a ten, so I collected the stack of three cards.

"Damn it," he muttered. "I hate Jacks."

"Unless you have them, then you love them." Calum laughed a bit at that, and then the game went on.

It was eleven by the time we finished three games. I won two, and the other one was a mutual decision to end it all. There were times during the rounds where we'd start raising our voices, but then we remembered that it was late at night, so we lowered them. Calum asked for a rematch tomorrow, and I didn't hesitate to accept.

I got up from my spot, my bum feeling sore from sitting on the hard ground for so long. I walked over to the door and began closing it.

"Good night, Mikey," Calum called out, "and leave the door open, please."

Seeing that it doesn't seem like Luke would be waking up any time soon, I agreed. My hand left the door and I made my way back to my bed. I saw the lights go off in Calum and Luke's room, and then I slowly started drifting off to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

"Luke, stop it."

"Come on, it'll be fine."

"No, it won't. Stop."

"I'm doing it, anyway."

"Please, don't."

"I'm going in."

I swear, if those are the words telling me there's going to be sex, then the least they could do is close the door and let me sleep. I don't want to hear their moaning and groaning and all that sex sounds.

I pulled the sheets over my head and groaned, hoping that would get the two to shut up.

Then everything was dead silent. And I was super grateful for that. But it was too quiet. It was an uncomfortable kind of silence. I opened my eyes and I was face-to-face with something that sent me flying out of bed, letting out a scream.

My mind finally processed what it was, and it was that freaking picture of the girl from The Exorcist.

My eyes then went to the person who was holding out the picture.

Of course, it had to be Luke.

He was laughing hysterically and he stuffed his phone into his pocket. I actually hurt my bum, trying to get as far away from the picture as possible.

"Calum, you should've seen the look on the freak's face!" Luke snorted as he slapped his knee, falling onto the ground rather than on my bed. I knew why he'd chosen the ground; he doesn't want 'freak germs all over him'.

"I told you not to," Calum groaned as he walked into the room, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's seven in the morning. Plus, Ashton's still asleep."

"Not my fault Michael screams like a fucking pussy." I so badly wanted to punch him, but I know better than to get my hand contaminated by his bratiness.

"Since I'm up, I'm going to shower," I sighed, standing up from where I was. I grabbed my clothes from my bag, a towel, and shower supplies and began heading to the restroom. Luke was still laughing, and it was really pissing me off. As much as I wanted to slam the restroom door, I didn't, because I feared I might wake Ashton up. I don't want to be the one waking him up from his slumber.

I turned the water on and waited for it to become the temperature of my liking. Once it was just right I stripped from my pyjamas, threw the towel onto a rack, and stepped into the shower.

Once the water washed over me, I began applying shampoo and conditioner to my hair.

My hair is perfectly fine, don't you guys think? So what if it's a super green? It's my hair, and I can do whatever I want to it. And no one, not even stupid Luke, is going to stop me from doing what I want to do to my hair.

Once I finished cleaning my hair I used body soap to clean the rest of me.

While I was in the shower I began thinking of ways to get back at Luke. There's always the option of dumping milk onto his 'perfect blond hair'. Or I could download an air horn app onto my phone and then play it when he's asleep. Or maybe I could buy some food coloring

I finished showering and shut off the water. I went over to the rack to collect my towel and then used it to dry my hair a bit. Then I used it to dry the rest of my and then place the towel back on the rack. I pulled on my clothes and then grabbed my towel again, wrapping it around my shoulders.

I brushed my teeth once I was fully clothed and ran my fingers through my green hair. I left the restroom and found that Ashton was still asleep, but he had the sheets kicked off of him and he was sprawled out on the bed. Those damn snores were escaping him, and I wanted to just rip that mouth of his off and throw it out the window.

The door to the other room was wide open and when I peered inside I saw Calum, and what I saw wasn't a very pleasant sight.

"Mate, where are your clothes?" I asked him, keeping my eyes only on his face and nowhere else.

"Why do I need clothes?" he asked, shrugging. "We're in a motel room. No one but you, Luke, Ashton, and I are here."

"You should at least cover yourself up. There's a window in your room, you know."

"No one can see up here. Besides, I should be proud of my body and show it off. It's sexy!"

"You should at least have some dignity in you." I pulled my gaze away from him as I made my way to my bed, jumping onto it and pulling the sheets over my head.

"Not only are you a freak, but you like dicks as well?" I shot up and my eyes met with the blue ones of the one and only, stupid Luke Hemmings. "Well, I sort of figured you were a faggot, so this isn't a shock to me."

"I'm not gay, you brat," I snapped. "I'm perfectly straight and into girls."

"It's better to admit you're gay than to lie that you're straight. Besides, with that kind of hair, who'd believe you're not gay?"

"My hair has nothing to do with my sexuality!"

"It's pretty flamboyant like yourself, so it's safe to assume that you're gay."

I groaned and slammed my head against the pillow before flipping myself over. "Fuck you!" I yelled into the pillow.

"I don't think anyone, let alone I, would want to do that with you," Luke said. I absolutely cannot stand that guy! I got up from my bed and stormed off into the other room to Calum who was sitting on the bed with his legs crossed and a pillow covering his manhood. "Yo, you're going to get your freak germs all over the place!"

"Who the fuck cares?!" I yelled back. "Calum! Tell your friend to knock it off!"

"Tell the freak to stop being so sensitive!"

"I'm not being sensitive! You're being a complete dick!"

"A dick that you'd suck off of any day."

"Brat!"

"Freak!"

"You guys!" Calum shouted, earning our attentions. "It's freaking seven in the morning! You both need to get along if we want this trip to be fun! Luke, stop with your stupid remarks, and Michael, don't fight back. I suggest you two at least have a conversation where you two don't want to strangle each other's necks. Ignoring one another won't do any good, because then there'd be tension, and I don't like tension!"

"I'd much rather jump out of the car while Ashton's driving than socialize with him," Luke said.

I let out a mocking scoff. "Be my guest. No one's gonna stop ya."

"Okay, you know what?" Calum began as he stood up, setting the pillow aside. "I'm not dealing with you two right now." He then went past us and locked himself up in the restroom. Luke and I glared at each other.

"Stay away from me!" we both yelled at once.

"The last thing I want is getting infected with freak," Luke spat.

"Likewise, but with your bratiness," I retorted.

"Freak."

"Brat."

"Freak!"

"Brat!" I marched to the door and grabbed ahold of the side.

"Bloody freak!" I turned around and I swear my face was turning red from extreme anger.

"Fucking brat!" Then I slammed the door, locking it once I did. I let out a frustrated groan and plopped onto the bed. "Fucking can't stand that guy."

And, of course, to break the silence that followed after my complaining, Ashton's snores filled the room.

I thought I would be able to deal with this trip and have fun despite the fact that stupid Luke Hemmings is here as well, but that brat is just making things more difficult for me. If he just kept his stupid, lame, snarky comments to himself, then everyone would be happy, we wouldn't talk, and everyone would have a good time.

I don't know what his deal is, and I don't ever plan on finding out. It's probably something stupid, like he just wants to pick a fight.

I turned to face the door that separated our rooms and I noticed a piece of paper that was just in front of it. I got up from my bed and walked over to it and picked it up.

_Wake Ash up. We're leaving at eight thirty._

P.S. Freak.

I crumpled up the paper and threw the paper ball at Ashton's sleeping face. It hit him right on the forehead. "Get up, fatass, we need to leave."

His only response was a loud snore escaping his throat. I sighed and then walked over to him. I began rolling his body from the bed until he fell to the ground. Ashton suddenly bolted up.

"Who the flip did that?!" he demanded, his eyes examining his surroundings. Then he looked at me, smiling. "Oh, it's you. What time is it?"

"Time for you to go clean up," I told him. "We're leaving in approximately an hour." He released a yawn before taking his phone that was sitting on the nightstand. He groaned and put his phone back where he picked it up, stood up, and made his way to the restroom.

When I heard the door close I went to my side of the room, placed my bag onto the edge of my bed, and began packing my things. We were about to go back onto the road, so why not start collecting my belongings now? Unlike Ashton, all my stuff aren't littering the room. We have this room for less than twenty-four hours and already he's made it his home.

There was a knock on the door, and I didn't plan on answering it. I don't care if it's Calum. I'm upset with him and his buddy arrangement. Plus, he might still be strutting around in his birthday suit. And I'd never open the door for Luke. I hate him, because he's just a complete arse to me.

Let them knock all they want. I'm not going to open it.

By the time Ashton finished cleaning up there was still rapping coming from the door. Ashton eyed me. "How long were they knocking?" he asked me.

"A couple of minutes," I answered. "But I'm not going to open the door."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASHTON!" Calum complained from the other side. "MIKEY IS BEING A BIG, FAT MEANIE!" Well, being called a meanie is better than being called a freak.

Ashton went over and swung the door open, resulting in Calum falling over since he was leaning against the door. Well, at least he's wearing his clothes now. A now shirtless Luke walked in right after and stepped over the brunet, saying 'dork' under his breath. It was definitely for Calum, because he calls me freak.

Calum scrambled onto his feet, jumping up and brushing it off like nothing happened. Then he hopped over to me and slammed his entire body onto my bed, causing my bag to bounce slightly.

"Get off," I said, not wanting to deal with him. Calum pouted and fixed his position so he was lying on his stomach and his arms were propping up his head.

"Why do you have to be so annoyed by every single thing?" Calum asked.

"I told you we should've thrown him out the window before he woke up," Luke spoke up. I shot him a glare and he smirked. "I know I have a sexy build, but I'd rather have girls swoon over me. Not some gay freak like you." I flipped him off and then he did an air thrust. God, he's so full of himself. I hate that about him. And also the fact that he has no reason to hate me, but he does anyway.

If he found something nice to say for once, then I think we would've been good friends. But that chance has passed by already, and it's all thanks to the cocky Luke Hemmings.

"It's too early to fight," Ashton groaned. "Let's just get packed so we can get out of here. I want to eat breakfast."

"We could probably go over eat at McDonald's again," Calum suggested as he sat up on my bed. I walked over to my phone and unplugged it from its charger and then the charger from the outlet. I stuffed the charger into my bag, pulling out my portable one and put that in my pocket. I unraveled the cord that was around my phone and then put the earbuds through my shirt so that they'd hang from the collar. I closed my bag and then patted the top of it.

"Or we could go over to the pancake restaurant that's next to it," Luke suggested. For once, I actually agree with him.

"That's even better than McDonald's!" Calum exclaimed. He jumped off my bed and ran up to Ashton, grabbing his shoulders. "Let's go eat pancakes! Please?!"

"Why are you asking me?" Ashton laughed. "You were the one who organized the trip."

Calum released Ashton, muttering quietly, "Oh. Then we shall feast on pancakes!" Then he chuckled and skipped off to the other room, Luke following behind him. I carried my bag over to the room door, not the one separating our rooms, and set it down. I turned to the Ashton.

"I'm already packed, so I'll meet you guys there. Ashton, take my bag to the car."

"Mate, that's no fair," Ashton complained as he frowned. "You always do this."

"Tomorrow I'll do it."

"Wait, Mikey!" I looked over at Calum who was shoving Luke into the room. "Go with Luke!"

"WHAT?!" He and I yelled.

"He's done packing, and I still need to."

"I wouldn't go even if my life depended on it! Also, I need a shirt!" Luke said. Ashton pulled out a Nirvana shirt and threw it at him, hitting him right in the face. I'd hold in my laugh, but this is Luke, so I let my laughter out. Luke slipped on the shirt and glared at me.

"Have fun you two!" Ashton shouted as he pushed Luke towards me. He almost bumped into me, but I moved out of the way, resulting in him going into the door instead. "Grab a table for us!"

"You both are bringing our bags to the car," Luke said through gritted teeth. I noticed that he said 'our' rather than 'his'.

"Bye!" Calum and Ashton waved as I opened the door and began walking out. Luke was most likely behind me, but I'm not waiting up for him. I don't want to be next to him and I don't want to see him. Heck, I don't even want to be near him!

"The view isn't pretty where I am, you know," Luke commented.

 _I'm going to ignore him._ And with that my pace started to quicken. Forget Luke, he can get kidnapped by ninjas for all I care.


	6. Chapter 6

I reached the restaurant and a waiter immediately came my way.

"Table for four," I told him. "The other three will arrive momentarily." He nodded and led me into the restaurant. I turned around and saw Luke finally walked in, but I'll let him figure out where I went.

The waiter took me to a booth by the window, and he placed four menus down. I took the seat closest to the window, facing away from the entrance, and he asked me if he could get me a drink, and I just said to him that water would be fine. He left and I opened up a menu. I put my feet on the seat across from me and then pulled out my phone, inserting an earbud into my ear and picking a song to play. I settled with All Time Low's album, Nothing Personal. I picked random and the first song that came up was Break Your Little Heart.

"Oh, there you are, you freak." I glared up at Luke as he took a seat on the opposite side me, but because my feet were propped on the seat right across from me he had to sit diagonal of me.

I hid my face behind the menu, not wanting to deal with him. I just want Ashton and Calum to hurry up with their packing and get here so things don't get ugly.

But since Luke's here, things are already ugly, and by things I mean his face.

Well, his face isn't that bad looking, but I can't stand looking at it. It irritates me so damn much.

Before I could put in another earbud, I heard Luke say, "What are you listening to?"

I set the menu down and glared at him. "Why do you care?" I questioned.

"I don't, but tell me anyway."

"I'm listening to a song."

"What kind of song?"

"A good one. Now leave me alone."

"Whatever, freak." See, that is why I don't want to talk to him. He's just going to throw insults at me.

"Here is your water," said the waiter as he set the glass down. I thanked him and Luke asked if he could get orange juice.

Really? Orange juice? What is he, six? He is, mentally. Immature brat.

I grabbed hold of my water and took a sip out of it as I continued scanning my eyes over the choices of pancakes. I didn't even read a single food, because I'm bothered at the fact that I'm alone with stupid Luke Hemmings.

"So, whom are you listening to?" Luke asked. I rolled my eyes and looked at him. If I want this guy to shut up, I might as well just answer him.

"All Time Low," I replied, not even bothering to hide the irritation in my voice.

"Oh. You're into _that_ kind of music."

I frowned. "What the fuck's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you shouldn't curse, because there are kids sitting right behind you." I turned around, and there were little kids indeed. They didn't seem to pay any attention to me, thank God for that. "It doesn't mean anything. I mean, I like them, too."

"So we've got similar tastes in music. What of it?"

"Nothing." Then things were back to silence, and I returned to looking through the menu again. Even though it was awkward, it beat talking to him. "Do you know Marianas Trench?"

I glanced up at him again. "What?"

"Marianas Trench. The band with Josh Ramsay." I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, mate, you're missing out."

"What are you-" Luke then left his spot and went to the one next to me. He was getting too close to me, and I pushed myself away from him. He whipped out his phone.

"Lend me your earbuds," he said. I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "Just do it." I stopped the music and unplugged my earbuds from my phone. I was going to slip them out of my shirt, but Luke grabbed the end where the cord plugs into the electronic and connected his phone. "Now, put in both earbuds."

I really didn't trust him. I brought the other earbud to my ear, but didn't insert it all the way, because Luke might pull some stupid prank and blast the music at maximum volume. I imitated the same action with the earbud that was already in my ear. I watched as Luke tapped away on his phone, going to his music and selecting a song.

I waited for the music to start, but it wasn't loud like I thought. A song was actually playing at a volume my ears could stand.

Luke pulled out the earbud from my ear that was closest to him.

"This song's called Fallout," Luke told me. "I think you might like it."

"It's good," I commented as I started to pull the other one out, but his arm hooked around my neck so he could keep the earbud in my ear.

"Listen to the end," he said. I just nodded, biting my bottom lip. How do I know he's not going to pull something in the end? I feel like he's going to bring the volume up.

_I'm awake and trying_

_While you're sleeping like a babe beside him_

_I'm on the ledge while you're so_

_God damn polite and composed_

I like how this song goes. All Time Low will still be my favorite band, though. This band is really good, and I like them already. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm sort of glad Luke introduced these guys to me.

_What comes and goes, I'd go without_

_I know you're fine, but what about_

_Fallout_

The song carried on all the way until the end, and the entire time Luke didn't even do anything. He just sat there with the earbud he pulled from my ear in his ear, bobbing his head to the music.

I almost forgot that we hated each other's guts. Maybe he's actually trying to end the unofficial war between us?

"Okay, now get away from me, you freak." Luke spat in disgust. "I'm supposed to be as far away from you as possible." He shuddered, pulling out the earbud from his ear and his phone from the earbuds, and then got up from the seat beside me and moved back to the other side of the table. He was the one who came over to me.

And now I hate him again.

I decided to not listen to music now, because I told myself that I should disinfect the earbuds when I get to the restroom. Or I should probably buy new ones. These ones should be thrown into a furnace. Luke's bratiness is all over it, and I don't want any of it on me,

"Sorry we were late," I heard Ashton say as he slipped into the seat beside me, our arms brushing. Luke got up from where he sat so Calum could take the window seat. I moved my feet off the chair for Calum, and he sat down.

"So, have you decided on what you want yet?" Calum asked

"I think I'll settle with Pancakes 'n' Scrambled Egg," Ashton answered.

"I'll get that, too. What about you, Luke?"

"Aussie Sunrise. And Michael wants the Dee Pancake."

"The Dee Pancake?" I raised an eyebrow. Then Luke smirked.

"A pancake wrapped around dick."

"Okay, now you're just plain rude," Calum scolded.

"Rude?" I scoffed. "He's more than rude! He's freaking annoying as hell, and he's such an arrogant brat!"

"It beats being a freak," Luke said. I groaned and dropped my menu onto the table.

"I don't even know what your deal is, but ever since you and I met you've got nothing but negative things to say to or about me!"

"Not my fault you're a freak." I glowered at him, and then pushed Ashton out of his seat.

"Give me your keys," I demanded to him. Ashton looked confused at first, but I was getting really irritated. "Give me the damn keys." He jumped when my voice raised a little bit and he pulled out the keys and handed them to me. "Enjoy your breakfast. I'm going to sleep in the car."

"But what about breakfast?" Calum frowned.

"I don't need it." Then with that I stormed off, not giving the three a second glance back.

God, Luke annoys the absolute shit out of me. I try to ignore him, but he just seems like he has to say something, and it pisses me off so much. Why can't he just try and get along?

In fact, why should I even try getting along with him? What's happening between us will never change. The two of us will still hate each other's guts, and we'll still be snapping insults at one another.

I fucking hate Luke Hemmings.

When I got to the car I saw that it was already loaded. I took my seat in the passenger seat and pulled at the lever so the backrest would lean all the way down. I didn't care if Luke used an earbud. I want to drown out the world, and these earbuds are the only way to escape reality. I plugged the cord into my phone and picked random for All Time Low's songs. The one that started playing was Damned If I Do Ya.

I brought up the volume and closed my eyes and only had my attention on the music that filled my head. If only I could listen to music forever, then things would be a whole lot better.

It wasn't until I finished about four songs did I feel a random draft hit my body. I opened an eye to see what was going on and saw Calum standing by me with the door open.

I pulled out an earbud, opening both my eyes now, and lowered the music so I could talk to him. "Hey," I greeted.

"Hi," he said back, giving me a brief wave. "Listen, I'm really sorry about Luke."

"Why are you apologizing? You did nothing wrong."

"I just feel like-"

"Luke should stop being a little kid for once and man up. He should apologize himself." I closed my eyes again and placed my earbud back into my ear.

Before I brought up the volume I heard Calum ask, "Do you want to play Egyptian Ratscrew?"

I looked at him and grinned. "You're on."

-

We moved to the backseat to play. Calum sat in Luke's usual spot and I sat in Calum's, because I know there's no way Luke would want to sit in the same spot I just sat in. I'm simply being courteous, don't blame me.

And once again I beat Calum in another game.

"NO!" Calum exclaims when he slams down his last card, which was a number. "You cheated! Rematch! I demand a rematch!"

"Mate, you lost three times," I laughed. "Are you really ready for a fourth?"

"I got this!" He grabbed for the cards and began shuffling them a couple of times. "I think you're cheating. What kind of black magic are you pulling?"

"Luck is just on my side! No need to be a sore loser!"

He pretended to look offended as he scoffed. "I am not a sore loser!"

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that. But if you lose again we're playing thirteen."

And we did end up playing Thirteen, because Calum lost the game once again.

"Okay, you know what? I officially hate Egyptian Ratscrew," Calum announced when we began playing Thirteen. "I'm never playing again."

"Maybe you just can't beat me," I shrugged.

"I'll beat you one day, okay? Don't get cocky."

"What happened to never playing again?"

"I changed my mind."

"Oh, my God." I started laughing and clapping when Calum set down a three of spades.

"Your move, greenie!"

"I don't want to hurt the rest of your pride," I joked.

"You know what?!" He slapped his cards down and jumped at me, my back pressing against the door.

"Cal! Get off!" He prodded his fingers into my side and I couldn't stop laughing. God, how heavy is Calum? He's got to at least weigh a ton. "Stop! That hurts and tickles at the same time!"

He finally stopped and it left us panting really hard. He was lying right on top of me, trying to catch his breath.

"That's probably the most I've moved in a minute," he said. "I'm exhausted." He rested his head on my shoulder and I patted his back.

"Cool, now get off," I ordered. "I need to take a breather as well, and it isn't easy when you're lying on me." I began to push him off, but he wasn't even making any effort in moving. "Seriously, I need to get up."

"Too tired to move," he moaned. "Give me a moment, please."

"... A moment passed. Now get off."

"Mikey, seriously..." Suddenly the car door swung open on the other side, and both Calum and I looked to see who was there.

I wasn't very surprised to see that it was Luke.

He looked surprised at first, but then he looked angry, no doubt. Probably because the situation looked like his best friend and his enemy were making out. Calum was between my legs and our chests were pressed against one another.

"What are you doing, Calum?" he asked, not even trying to hide his anger in his tone.

"I- I was-" Luke yanked Calum off of me and pulled him out of the car. "Luke! It isn't what it looks like!"

Well, the reason why Luke's angry could go in a plethora of ways, but I'm not even going to think about the options. Luke dragged Calum far away from the car so I couldn't hear what they were going to be talking about. I don't know what their talk is going to be about, but I do hope that Calum makes it out alive.

I saw Ashton approach the car holding a box. "I, uh, I got you breakfast," he told me. I took the box from him.

"Thanks," I said. I opened it up and saw a pancake that didn't even look like someone even touched it.

"It's an Aussie Sunrise. Hopefully you'll like it."

"Thanks, Ash." He then handed me a fork, and I stabbed a piece out the pancake out.

"Now, I'm going to go check on the other lads. Make sure they're not killing each other." Then he closed the door and left me alone with my Aussie Sunrise.

"Calum? Kill Luke? Yeah, right," I said to myself. "Also, Luke wouldn't hurt his best friend."

By the time I finished half, the others returned. I handed Ashton his keys as he took a seat at the driver seat and Luke took his own spot. I was about to step out, but then Calum went to the passenger spot. I cocked an eyebrow. Are we having a new seating arrangement or something?

"Sorry, Mikey," Calum said as he turned to me. "Ashton suggested we switch passengers once in a while to help him keep an eye out on the road."

"But-" What about the fact that Luke and I hate each other?

"You'll be fine back there," Ashton spoke up. "Promise." I glanced over at Luke. He was facing the window and still had a sour look on his face. He must not want this seat arrangement either. But I'm the more mature one, so I'll agree to it.

"Okay," I simply stated as Ashton began driving out of the parking lot. "You checked us out already?"

"Mhm, did that before we went to the restaurant. The pancakes there were good, huh Cal?"

"Yeah," Calum muttered. "It was good." What happened to all his happiness? "What about you, Luke?"

"Actually-"

"Delicious," Luke said, not turning his head. Then the entire car went silent, the only sounds were our car and other ones that passed by plus my quiet munching on pancakes.

Well, things just got awkward in here.


	7. Chapter 7

Within a half hour into the drive and I finished my food. Tasty pancakes, yum. Then that half hour became a full hour.

I don't know why, but after the talk Luke and Calum had, there was tension between the two. Luke seemed mad Calum, and the brunet looked sad, almost regretful.

I sort of want to know what their talk was about. I may hate Luke, but Calum doesn't deserve this kind of thing from him.

I can only think of three ways why Luke and Calum are like this:

One, he's mad, because he doesn't want his best friend to be alone with the person he hates the most. Two, they're actually boyfriends and he got jealous, because he thought Calum was cheating on him. Three, Luke has a crush on me and thought Calum was breaking the bro code...

No, that last option is out of the question.

But the strange thing is it doesn't creep me out as much as I thought it would. I hate him with all my guts. The idea should be repulsive to me.

Listen to me, I sound like those idiots in stories where they dismiss the thought of someone liking them when in reality the person does like them. Except Luke really doesn't like me. If anything, he hates me and my guts. I bet he wishes to hang me by my intestines. That's how much he hates me.

Calum was giving directions to Ashton and Luke was still staring out the window, lost in his own world, no doubt.

I set the empty box that used to hold my pancakes down by my feet and began pulling out my phone to listen to some more music.

I heard some grumbling sound before I could put in my earbuds. It wasn't me, because I felt no vibrations.

However when I glanced over at Luke he was squirming a bit, his arm wrapped over his stomach. Then the growling sound happened again.

"Shit," Luke mouthed as he tried to find a better position.

Did his stomach growl? Is he hungry? I thought he just ate? What did he order again? Something like Abby Sunset or whatever.

"Take the road on the right," I heard Calum say. Ashton followed his instructions. "There should be a forest down this path."

"Oh, we're going camping, too?" Ashton asked. "I didn't know that."

"I forgot to mention that, but yes, we are. I brought two tents, firewood, coat hangers, water bottles, and the perfect ingredient for the perfect s'mores. We'll reach the destination in about two hours, I guess."

"Cool."

Calum looked at the map when the car went quiet again, and then Luke's growling stomach decided it'd be a good idea to make noises.

"Is someone still hungry?" I asked, even though I knew the answer to that.

"I ate before I joined you," Calum said. "Ashton?"

"I did as well."

"So... it's Luke?" I glanced over at him, and he shot me a glare.

"Keep your eyes to yourself, freak," he snapped. "I already ate."

"Huh, then someone must need a bathroom break, right?" Calum said. "To the next bathroom stop!"

"It's just right there," Ashton said as he pulled out of the road. He shut off the car. "Okay, who needs to go?"

No one answered, but then I decided to unbuckle my seatbelt.

"I guess I'll go," I said. "Better safe than sorry."

"Freak's got diarrhea?" Luke smirked. I glared at him.

"I'll go, too," Calum spoke up as he removed his seatbelt and stepped out of the car. I got out and followed him.

After Calum and I did what we needed to do we went to wash our hands.

"So, what did Luke talk to you about?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it," Calum said. "It's nothing important."

I'm starting to lean towards Luke and Calum being an item.

I'm not going to lie, I can really see them together. But I hope they're just friends, because... I don't know, I just want them to be.

Then the door opened and it revealed Ashton. Just Ashton, no Luke.

"Hey, Ashton," Calum greeted. Ashton walked over to him and they began whispering. I guess whatever they need to discuss isn't any of my concern.

Once my hands were dry I left the restroom and returned to the car. Luke was still in the same position as before. It was like he didn't even move.

"I know it was you," I spoke up, catching his attention.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your stomach, it growled."

"So?"

"Why didn't you just admit it?"

"I don't have to answer that." Then he returned to staring out the window at nothing. I let out a sigh, and then got out of the car. There should probably be a snack Luke can eat. I may hate him, but I'm not heartless.

When I opened the trunk to look for food, I noticed Luke glancing at me. "What are you doing?"

"Getting you something to eat. What else?" I pulled out the graham crackers and opened up the box. I took out a bag of graham crackers and placed the box back. I shut the trunk and walked back over to the spot I was sitting at. I tossed the snack at Luke, and it landed on his lap.

"What did you do to these?" he asked, eyeing me.

"I can't give you crackers without you accusing me of doing something to them?" He squinted his eyes. "Just eat them. You apparently didn't eat anything."

Luke looked down at the graham crackers before opening up the bag. He just stared at the snack before popping it into his mouth.

"Are you, like, anorexic or something?" I asked.

"No!" Luke retorted defensively. "I just wasn't hungry today."

"Which would explain why your stomach is yelling at you to give it some food."

"Shut up."

I could've sworn that back at the restaurant he ordered something. So why didn't he eat?

"Didn't you order food?" I questioned. He glared at me as he munched on another graham cracker.

"Why are you being so annoying with all your questions?" Luke shot back. "Let me eat in peace."

"You did order something. I remember. What was it again? Abby Sunset? Something like that."

"Shut your freak mouth for five minutes, will ya?!" He let out a groan. "You know what? I'm eating outside. Going to that table over there. Don't even bother coming for me. Just send Calum or Ashton over, but don't you dare go near me." With that he stepped out of the car, slammed the door shut, and marched his way all the way to a picnic table.

Sheesh, I do one nice thing for him, and what do I get in return? His horrible, bratty attitude. Yeah, that'll be the last time I'll be nice to him.

Calum and Ashton returned to the car moments later.

"Where did Luke go?" Ashton asked when he searched the back. I pointed over to the table that he was sitting at. He was scrolling through his phone while eating the graham crackers. "I'll be right back." Ashton left the car and strolled over to Luke.

"You know it was Luke whose stomach growled," I told Calum, "right?"

"What?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"He apparently didn't eat."

"But... I was there when he ordered. He got an Aussie Sunrise."

Wait, that was the one that Ashton got me. Could it be that... Luke asked Ashton to give it to me? Why would he do that? He hates me.

Maybe for once he actually felt bad and gave up his breakfast. Yeah, that sounds about right. Well, he didn't have to use Ashton as a breakfast deliverer. He could've just gave it to me in person.

He probably wants me to still think he hates me.

"I see," I finally said. "I guess he was still hungry?"

"Hm, probably." Calum doesn't seem to be aware of what Luke really did- or probably did. Maybe I can ask Ashton. He was the one who stayed with him the entire time.

Calum glanced over to where Luke and Ashton were, and I did the same. Luke was glaring right in our way, and it was hard to tell whether it was directed towards me or Calum.

"I'll go check on Luke," Calum finally said. He stepped out and walked over to the others, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Should I go out there, too? I mean, everyone else is there and I don't want to seem like the one who's the loner of the group, but I don't want to be anywhere near Luke, and Luke wants to be nowhere near me.

I shouldn't let whatever Luke says bother me. If I do then he's just winning, because that's all he wants to do: bother me. And murder me, but mostly bother.

I decided to go out, locking the car in the process. I go over to everyone, and all their eyes land on me.

Luke's nearly done with his crackers, Ashton's sitting beside him, and Calum is right across Luke. So I decided to sit next to Calum where Ashton is in front of me.

"Did you get lonely?" Luke said. I'm not even going to answer that. I turned to Ashton.

"So, when are we going back onto the road?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Let's take a mini break, yeah?" Ashton suggested. "I just want us all to talk WITHOUT any negative remarks." Ashton looked at Luke who just shrugged innocently when he said that. He's not innocent at all, nope.

"I still have to beat Mikey in a game of Egyptian Ratscrew," Calum frowned. "He's cheating, I swear!" Before anyone could say anything, he shot up and darted for the car.

"Wait! I locked it!" I shouted. Ashton tossed the keys at Calum who unfortunately didn't catch them. He picked the keys off the ground and continued scurrying to the car.

"Calum's an idiot," Ashton laughed.

"Yeah, he is," Luke smiled. Yes, he really did smile, and it was a genuine one, too. Not the stupid grin he shoots towards me, but it was like 'he's so dumb, but I love him anyway.'

I'm starting to lean towards the possibility that he and Calum really are dating.

I don't have enough information on their relationship with each other, but if I had to guess it, I'd say it's that they're together. If they are, then let me be the first to say that I called it.

Calum returned with the pack of cards and placed them on the table. "You're going down!" he yelled, pointing at me. Man, this guy really is super determined to beat me. Well, if he loses for the fifth time, then it's not my fault, is it? I should probably go easy on him, that way he can at least feel a bit of pride in himself.

-

So much for going easy on him.

Calum was already the first to get out, but there was always a chance for him to get back in.

"Mikey!" he complained. "Why do you always do this to me?!"

"Not my fault now, is it?" I chuckled. He stuck his tongue out at me.

"I'mma get back in! Watch, and then I'll defeat you for sure!" My reflexes were pretty quick, so most of the slaps I got them. Occasionally it'd be Ashton or Luke who'd get the stack, but Calum was usually the third, if not last, person to slam his hand down.

Minutes later Ashton put down his last card. "I'm out," he nonchalantly stated. "I'll just watch."

Now it's just me and Luke.

"As if you could beat me, Clifford," Luke taunted. I just grinned.

"You might want to record this, Ashton," I said, "because I'd like to replay my sweet victory when I win this game." Ashton pulled out his phone and began recording, even though I was totally kidding about that. Luke slapped a jack down, and I put my card down, revealing a queen.

"That's messed up," he groaned. I just laughed when he placed a three, followed my a king.

"Are you kidding me?!" I exclaimed. "That deck would've been mine if you didn't have that freaking king!" My next card happened to be a king, and then I slapped my hand down on top of the deck, and Luke did the same. He immediately retracted his hand while I took the deck, a smug look on my face. I put down a six and waited for Luke to go. I looked up at him and he was just staring at me like I had two heads. "What?"

"I-I just..." he stuttered. Then he shook his head and wiped his hand on Ashton's shirt, grumbling "Gross..."

Just when I thought we were becoming friends he just had to lead us back to square one. The square where we hate each other.

"I think we're done. Let's just say Luke and I are both winners. You two are losers," I laughed, pointing at Ashton and then at Calum.

"One day," Calum said, shaking his head.

"Time to get to the car. Cal, the keys?" Calum handed the item to Ashton. Luke put his set of cards on the table while I collected all the cards. Then we all made our way to the car. Except for Luke. He went to dispose of the bag that used to have the graham crackers.

Calum was skipping ahead with Ashton, talking about all the places they'll see on this trip. Luke was lingering behind, trudging his feet against the ground. He looked as if he was deep in his thoughts.

What's up with him? I'm not complaining. I prefer this quiet Luke over the cocky one any day. At least he isn't bothering me or making his stupid comments.

If he was like this I think life would be better.

We reached the car and Calum suggested to drive, because Ashton's human as well; he needs a rest once in a while. But Ashton didn't want Calum driving, because he thought he'd crash into something within the first few minutes. It's funny, because other than the rest stop there really was nothing for Calum to hit.

Then Calum argued that he was not Asian and that he wouldn't do such a thing.

I also found out he's a Kiwi. Not the fuzzy fruit, but someone who's from New Zealand. I'm learning something new every day.

Luke sat as his usual spot, and I didn't feel like sitting next to him, so I took shotgun. Ashton sat in the back where I used to sit, handing the keys to Calum and closing his eyes as he began to fall asleep.

Calum handed a map to me, telling me to tell him when to make necessary turns.

"Can't you use a GPS?" I asked. "Besides, I'm not very good with maps."

"Why use a GPS? That's no fun," Calum pointed out. "It's like the old days before technology existed. Use the map like the ancient times. Plus, talking will make our bond stronger. Have Ashton help you read the map if you really can't read."

"He'll probably be asleep, and it's usually never a good idea to wake him when he's asleep."

"Then, ask Luke."

"Like he'd want to help me."

"Well, then... you're screwed."

My eyes bulged out of my head. "Please tell me you don't mean that."

Calum then laughed. "No worries, I remember how to get there. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy your time on The Hood Express." He started the car, and then pulled back onto the road.

This kid better know where we are, because I refuse to be lost and spend extra days with Luke Hemmings.

To prevent that scenario from happening I studied the map and began to self-teach myself how to read one. I think I'll be able to get this within an hour.


	8. Chapter 8

"Mate, where the hell are we?"

"We'll be there soon, don't worry."

"I thought you said you knew where we were going?"

"I do."

"Okay, so where are we?"

"We are where we are."

"Oh, my God."

Calum got us lost.

I learned how to read a map, yet we still got lost. Calum has no bloody idea where we are.

I told him to take the exit before the one Calum took, but he insisted that this way was the best way.

Yeah, best way to get lost and die.

I tried to locate where we were, but there were no signs to help me with that.

I really wanted to ask Ashton for some help, but he was fast asleep. Luke was asleep as well, but even if he was awake I wouldn't ask him. Call me stubborn, but that's just how things work between us.

"Turn around, get back on the highway, and take that exit I told you to take," I ordered Calum, but he was still adamant about going this direction.

"Mikey, it's fine. I've seen the map," Calum tried to reassure, but it was far from reassuring.

"Pull the fuck over." Calum groaned and did just that. I handed him the map so he could figure out where we were.

"We're right here." He pointed to a spot and I looked down at it.

"That was the road I told you to take."

"Really?" His eyes went wide as he studied the map closer. "Oh, shit."

I facepalmed myself. God, Calum's such an idiot. And we've been driving on the wrong road for half an hour, making tons of lefts and rights.

"We're lost, aren't we?" I asked, slightly scared to hear the answer.

"... Yeah." We're so fucked.

"How are we going to break the news to the lads?" I asked, gesturing to Ashton and Luke.

"Let's just wait for them to wake up," Calum answered, "then we'll tell them. Can you find our location with the GPS on your phone?" I took my phone out and went to the Maps, but saw that there was no connection. We're lost with no way of calling for help. Great job, Calum.

"Nothing." Calum groaned and slammed his fist against the wheel, causing the horn to sound. Ashton jumped up, letting out a short surprise yelp. "He's awake now."

He looked around and cocked an eyebrow. "Where in the world are we?" Ashton asked. "Why did we stop?"

Calum bit his lower lip as he turned around in his seat. Then he opened his mouth to explain. "I may or may have not taken a wrong turn and got us lost."

"What?! See, this is the reason why I didn't want you driving! Switch with me."

"I thought you said it was because you didn't want us to crash?"

"That as well." Ashton removed his seatbelt and climbed out of the car, Calum doing the same. Once Ashton got into the driver seat he looked at me. "Let me see the map." I did as he said and he looked over it, mumbling to himself. "Okay, where are we supposed to go?"

"We were supposed to take this route," I said, pointing at the line that represented the road we were supposed to be on. "Calum passed it, and he made a bunch of turns, and now we've no idea where we are or how to get back onto the highway."

"Okay, I'll see what I can do." Ashton put the car into drive and made a U-turn. "We've been driving westbound, so... let's use your phone as a compass." I opened up the compass app and saw that we were facing the west. I don't know what turns Calum made, and for all we know we could either be driving towards, away, or parallel to the road.

"I'm sorry, guys," Calum muttered.

"Don't worry about it, Cal," Ashton said. "Can you recall the last turn you made?"

"I think it was a left, so you should probably take a right."

-

It took about two hours, but we finally got back on the highway and are headed in the right direction.

Luke was still passed out in the back, and Calum was on the verge of falling asleep, but he kept his eyes open, looking at the map. Ashton still had enough energy to stay awake, and I wasn't the least bit tired.

"There!" Calum suddenly exclaimed. "We shall camp here!"

"Why?" I asked, but Ashton just hushed me.

"Don't question Calum," he said.

"I think I can since he did get us lost."

"I'm sorry!" Calum exclaimed, slamming his hands onto my headrest. Ashton parked the car and killed the engine. Calum and Ashton told me to help them out with carrying the things out. They also said that they'd wake up Luke, but they didn't have the heart to do it.

So I did it.

"Wake up, fucktard, we're here!" I yelled, Ashton and Calum covering their ears. Luke didn't flinch or anything. He was still sleeping through it. I groaned, climbed out of the car, and walked over to his side. He was leaning against the door, so this was perfect.

I opened the door, and since he was against it he began falling out but thanks to his seatbelt he only fell halfway before he let out a girly shriek as he began pulling himself back into the car. I stifled a laugh, because- God that scream was completely unexpected.

Luke's eyes were wide when he looked up at me, but then it changed into a glare, fire filling his eyes.

"You fucking freak!" he shouted as he unbuckled and jumped out of the car, only to fall on his face.

That's when I lost it.

"Oh, my God!" I cackled, doubling over and falling onto the ground, my arms wrapped around my stomach and my eyes shut tight as tears began to form. This is the best thing I've ever seen since I poured milk all over his head.

The next thing I knew Luke was on top of me, pulling my hands above my head. I opened up my eyes to see him pull back his hand that was in a fist. I shut my eyes tightly, still laughing yet waiting for the hit to happen, but it never did. I peeked open and saw that Luke was yanked off of me by Calum who had come to my rescue.

"Let me beat the shit out of this freak!" Luke yelled, trying to pull out of Calum's grip, but then the brunet just led him away from me, pushing him against the car. I can't hear them, but Calum's probably scolding him or whatever.

Ashton walked over to where I was and helped me up. "You should've just let him sleep," Ashton said, shaking his head.

"Hey, you and Calum said you didn't have the heart to do it, so I did you guys a favor," I defended. "You're welcome." Then I walked to the trunk. "Now, come help out."

I heard Ashton sigh before he followed me.

"... to express yourself," I heard Calum say. I glanced over at them, walking a bit more slowly now.

"Whatever," Luke growled as he forced himself away from Calum, but then he quickly turned back to him, bringing his face closer to his.

Look away, Mikey. No need to watch some PDA.

Few seconds later the two came by and began pulling things out of the car. I saw Luke was sending me death glares, but I shrugged it off, because he already hates me to the maximum. It's not like he can hate me any more than he already does.

-

I stand corrected.

After everything was set up, we decided to have some s'mores. For the past half hour Luke's been throwing marshmallow pieces at me. He even had the balls to throw one that was on fire. It missed me, thank God for that, but then there was another marshmallow that wasn't on fire, but it was still hot that hit my face.

So... guess who has two thumbs, green hair, and a red mark on his cheek? This guy named Michael Clifford. But unless you flash a bright light in my face, you can't see the mark.

He's sitting on the other side of the fire, yet he still manages to throw every bit at me without Calum and Ashton noticing at all. Those two are too engulfed in whatever conversation they're having.

If Luke keeps tossing any more marshmallows at me, we won't have any for s'mores for the rest of the trip. Unless we find some place where we can buy them.

Okay, Luke just threw a chewed up marshmallow in my hair. Lovely. Fuck you, Hemmings.

I'm going to be the mature one and not blow up at Luke. I pulled out the marshmallow the best I could and stood up.

"Where can I wash off?" I asked as I peeled more of Luke's spit-covered marshmallow from my hair. Calum turned to me.

"Hm? Oh, there's a lake a little ways in that direction," he said, pointing behind Luke. I raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure? Like, the lake is that way?"

"I get us all lost once and already you're doubting me." Luke seemed confused when Calum said that. I don't think anyone told him anything about us getting lost. Well, that's what happens when you sleep during the day: you're not up-to-date with things.

"Okay, then... Are you sure we're allowed to wash there?"

"It's the only water around." I frowned, but then I shook my head.

"I'll be going then." I started heading off to the direction Calum told me to. I felt something hit my bum and I let out a yelp and turned around to see Luke waving his coat hanger around, snickering. I glare at him, but then continue on my way.

I reached the lake about five minutes later. A little ways, my ass. This place is far from where we're camping. I can't even see the light from the fire anymore.

The lake was freaking huge, and the moon made the water sparkle. The view was absolutely breathtaking. Oh, if only the lads could see this right now.

There was a rock nearby, and I decided I'll put my clothes on there. Well, just my shirt, shoes, socks, and pants. I'm leaving my boxers on.

Once I stripped down to my boxers and set my clothes on the large rock I walked over to the lake, stepping foot into the water. It was cold, but it was perfect to relieve the burn on my cheek.

I scooped up some of the water and brought it up to my face. When the water touched my cheek it felt nice, really good. Some of the water slid down from my face to my neck. Then it dripped down to my body. The water's freezing, but it was also very relaxing.

I dipped my hands into the water and then ran my fingers through my hair, trying to allay the uncomfortableness of Luke's sticky marshmallow from it.

My eyes were shut as the cold water cascaded my entire frame, some of it clinging onto my shorts. I let out a deep sigh through my nose. It was so peaceful here, and I'm feeling pretty serene right now.

I thought I heard something behind me, so I turned around. I didn't see anything, so I shrugged it off. I'm probably hearing things.

Once I felt like my hair is free of any stickiness I stepped out of the water and went to where my clothes were. I used my shirt to dry off any excess water and pulled on my pants. I grabbed my shoes and socks and walked back over to the water so I could clean my feet from the dirt that was sticking to the bottom of it.

I slipped on my socks and shoes and then headed back to the campsite, my shirt hanging around my neck.

Ashton and Calum were still around the fire, talking with each other, but Luke was nowhere to be seen. He's probably in his and Ashton's tent, sleeping. Calum and Ashton looked up at me, giving me a small smile.

"Whoa, Mikey," Calum breathed out. "You're fit." I looked down at myself and shrugged.

"I'm all right, I guess," I said. I took a seat at my spot and Calum handed me an already made s'more. I blinked at it before I glanced at him. "Who made this?"

"I did," Calum answered. "You're welcome, greenie."

"Uh, okay..." I took a bite out of it and moaned at the taste. S'mores are so delicious.

"That was probably the sexiest moan I've heard," Ashton laughed. "Ever."

"God, don't make it gay, Ash," I groaned, picking up a twig from the ground and throwing it his way.

"You probably just gave Ashton a boner," Calum joked, using his coat hanger to hit Ashton in between the legs. Ashton shifted himself away from Calum before swinging out his coat hanger and the two started fighting like the coat hangers were swords.

"You guys are idiots," I chuckled. I turned away from them. "I'm going back to the tent."

"Okay, but don't go to sleep yet. I still want to play Egyptian Ratscrew!"

"Give it up. I'm done playing that game. Maybe in another lifetime." Calum pouted, but then released an 'oof' when Ashton poked him in the stomach. Then they were back to swordfighting.

I headed to the tent and pulled the flaps to the side, but then saw that there was already a figure sleeping inside. What's Luke doing in my and Calum's tent?

He then raised his head and the sheets on him slipped off of him, revealing his naked upper body.

"What are you doing in here?" I asked him.

"This is my tent," he answered, annoyed. "I should be asking you that."

"Since when? Calum and I claimed this one."

"We decided to switch when you were gone. Didn't he tell you?" I looked around the tent. My bag was still here. Maybe they wanted me to bring my stuff over instead. Then I looked out at Calum. He was still fighting with Ashton. Then I looked back at Luke.

"So I'm in the other tent, aren't I?" He looked at me like I just asked the stupidest question in the world. "Whatever, I'm going."

"Hold on." Luke suddenly grabbed my wrist and pulled me down, the flaps of the tent closing. I fell onto my back and now he was hovering over me. His hands pinned mine on either side of me. I looked up at him with wide eyes and he was glaring down at me. "No one makes a fool out of me."

"What are you- oh." It clicked. He meant when he fell earlier. That was his fault, not mine. "That was all your doing. I had nothing to do with it."

"Shut up. You're going to pay for what you did today." Then he looked at the tent entranc. He brought his face close to my ear and whispered, "I'd make you pay for it now, but that could wait until tomorrow when we room together." Then he got off of me and walked out, dusting himself off and muttering 'freak' under his breath.

I sat up so I was on my elbows, my shirt slipping from my shoulder. I picked it back up and used it to ruffle my hair, drying it the best I could. Then I threw it back around my neck, stood up, and walked over to my bag. Then Calum walked in, cocking an eyebrow at me.

"Why are you taking your stuff?" he asked. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Um, I'm bringing it over to the other tent," I explained. "You could've at least told me we were switching tents."

"What?"

"Why didn't you tell me we were switching tents?"

"Uh, because we aren't?"

... Wait, what?


	9. Chapter 9

AN: I'm currently singing Amnesia as a dying walrus.

... Wait, what?

"But... huh?" Then why did Luke tell me that? Oh, wait. He was just messing with me. He just wanted me to bring my stuff to the other tent and make a fool out of myself. Yeah, I'm glad Calum caught me before I actually did bring my stuff over.

I set my bag down and lied down on my side of the sheet that was laid out by Calum.

"But what?" Calum pressed, leaning forward. I just waved him off.

"Don't worry about it. It's nothing." Calum sat down on the spot where he's sleeping at and rummaged through his bag. Then he pulled out a deck of cards. "Oh, my God..."

"Play. Now," he demanded.

"What if I don't want to play?"

"Then I will pull out my ropes and tie you up and tickle you until you give in and decide to play."

"Cal, what the fuck?"

"I was joking, I don't have any ropes. But I have to beat you!"

"You will one day, but not today. I'm tired."

"Technically, it's night."

"Shut up. Go sleep." I threw the covers over me, but they were immediately pulled off. "Fuck off, Calum!"

"Grouchy Mikey is grouchy," Calum said, using this annoying voice. I groaned and sat upright.

"One game. One fucking game of Egyptian Ratscrew."

"Yes!" God damn it, this guy. I lied down on my stomach as I watched Calum set up the game. I really don't want to play this game anymore, so I'll let him beat me just so he can get off my back about this.

-

Why the fuck did I not stick to the plan?!

Calum's got three cards left and I have the rest of the stack. I could practically see his pride crumbling inside. I'm surprised he even has any left.

I know in his stack he has a jack, so maybe that'll have him win back his cards. As longs as I don't have any face cards once he puts his jack down.

Calum puts down his card, and it's the jack I was talking about.

Please, deck, put down a number!

Fuck you, queen.

Before Calum could put down his last number cards I slapped my hands over the pile and opened my mouth to speak. "Egyptian Ratscrew's a dumb game. Let's play Crazy Eight, yeah?"

Calum frowned. "I don't know how to play that."

"Okay, the rules of the game are pretty basic..." I began explaining the rules to him and even guided him through as we played the game. He seemed to like this game as well, but he was still a bit stuck in Egyptian Ratscrew since he kept slapping the cards. Silly Calum.

After fifteen he eventually started liking the game. He even got rid of his cards before I did.

"Yes!" he exclaimed a bit too loudly. I bet Ashton and Luke can hear him from the other tent. Well, these tents aren't sound proof, so of course any small noise they can hear.

"You must be pretty happy that you finally beat me, right?" I laughed. Calum nodded eagerly.

"I like this game!" he beamed, earning a chuckle from me. Then he squinted his eyes at me. "You didn't lose on purpose, did you?"

"No, I swear I didn't." I really didn't. He won all on his own. "Now, let's go to sleep. I'm dead tired." Calum nodded before burying himself under the sheets and within seconds he was already conked out. What the hell?

That kid has so much energy, yet he can fall asleep within a blink of an eye.

Well, at least he's not snoring. It beats sleeping in the same room as Ashton.

I pulled off my shoes and socks and switched out of my jeans and into some gym shorts that I no longer need, but use for sleeping. I threw my shirt and jeans aside and lied myself down on my spot. I closed my eyes and waited for sleep to take over.

-

The following morning, I don't know why, but I woke up before anyone else did. I checked my phone that was left in my pants pocket. It was six in the morning. Why the hell am I up so early?

I can't go back to sleep now. I might as well just clean up.

It seems like Calum moves around a lot in his sleep. He's not all over my place, no, but his head and feet somehow switched sides and his limbs were sprawled out like a starfish.

Okay, so Ashton snores and Calum shifts around a lot in his sleep. What's next? Luke's going to talk in his sleep?

I sat up from my spot and climbed out of the tent. There was barely any light out, and clouds were covering the sky. If I were to guess, I'd say it's going to rain later.

I grabbed some fresh, clean clothes and a towel, and decided to go barefooted to the lake. Hope I don't step on anything that'll pierce through my foot. Ouch.

I could hear Ashton's snoring once I got out. God damn it, Ash.

It was freezing when I got out, so I pulled over the shirt and wrapped the towel over me to keep the heat in.

I made my way over to the lake, but froze where I stood when I saw something jump into the water and create splashing sounds. I slowly inched closer to see what it was, and then someone stepped emerged from the water and stepped onto shore.

Why's Luke swimming at six in the morning?

He was wearing only swimming shorts and his hair was all wet. He shook his head so some of the water that clung to his hair flew everywhere.

I didn't want him to know I was there nor did I want to be there. I began making my way back to the campsite before I stepped on a twig that caused a cracking sound. Luke turned his head in my direction, and I could've sworn he was smirking.

"What brings you here, freak?" he said, picking up a towel from the rock where it was laid out.

"No answer," I stated, walking past him, set my towel on the rock, and headed towards the water. I bent down at the shore and splashed some water onto my face. Then I felt the freezing liquid being poured onto my head and start going down. I stopped at what I was doing and turned around to see a grinning Luke, running his fingers through his wet, blond hair.

"Thought you needed to wake up a bit. Also, answer my question." Stupid Luke. He got my shirt wet. I pulled my wet shirt over my head and tossed it aside. Great, even my pants and boxers are soaked, but whatever. I'm not stripping down anymore.

"I couldn't sleep," I finally said, just wanting to get this conversation over with. "So I decided, why not just clean myself up?" I returned to the water and leaned down to it, washing my face again. I heard some water splashing a bit and then I could feel Luke's presence behind me. I glared up at him. "Could you step away from me? You're going to get your brat germs all over me."

"Why? I'm clean," Luke shrugged.

"Really? I don't see it."

"Then look a little bit longer, then you'll see it." I scoffed and moved farther away from him, but he just came closer to me. "I know I'm attractive, but you don't need to be shy."

"Leave me alone, you cocky bastard." For every step I took away from him, he'd take two steps closer to me. That grin of his is really pissing me off, and so is the fact that he keeps getting closer to me. I bet later on he'll say, 'Ew, get your freak germs away from me' like he always does, but I'm not the one who's approaching him now, am I?

Why won't he stop getting into my personal space? "Go away." He still didn't listen to me. "Okay, fine! I'll go back to Calum."

His stupid smirk disappeared, thank God. But then he began to glare at me and was now moving faster and he grabbed my wrist. "You're not going anywhere near Calum," he hissed.

"What? Why?" I asked, annoyed and confused. "I can talk to whomever I want! Or are you worried that I might steal your boyfriend away?"

His expression changed from anger to surprised. Then he scoffed and threw my arm back at me, started storming off. He briefly turned around and looked at me.

"You're a fucking idiot, Clifford, you know that?" Then he went deeper into the lake and dove underwater.

Go drown and see if I care.

Wait, don't drown. Calum would be really sad if he lost his boyfriend.

I rolled my eyes and started going back to the rock where my towel and shirt were.

Suddenly something grabbed my shoulders and dragged me beneath the water. When I noticed how far away from the surface I was, I started struggling to break free. I felt something moving upward and I desperately clung onto it, and then we emerged from the water.

"Oh, my God!" I shouted. I was taking deep breaths and I was literally scared shitless. Whatever I was holding onto, my arms were wrapped tightly around it as if the object was my only hope of surviving.

"What a pansy." I looked and saw Luke laughing. "You're scared of going underwater." I took in the position we were in. The 'thing' my arms were around was his neck, and his arms were under my back and knees.

"You fucking brat!" I pushed him away, but when I didn't feel the ground beneath me I panicked and clung back onto Luke. I saw that we were a little bit far from shore. This fucking douchebag pulled me away from shore. And the worst part is, I can't swim! 

Luke was laughing at me some more, probably enjoying my freak out right now. But if I don't get back to shore I'll die! And I don't want to die in Luke's arms!

I don't know why, but I buried my face into the crook of his neck, not wanting to see that I was surrounded by water. "Take me back to shore," I ordered. "Now."

"Just swim back, you freak," Luke said as if it was the simplest thing in the world. He began to release me, but I shrieked and held onto him tighter.

"I can't swim!" I was starting to hyperventilate. What if he actually lets go? I will really die! And I don't want to die yet! I still haven't met a girl for myself! "Shore. Now!"

"Say please." God damn it, not this again.

"In English, right? Not Cantonese or Swahili?" I felt his arms start to slip from underneath me and I pulled myself closer to him. "Please! Get me back on dry land alive and in one piece!"

I felt Luke start to move, and when I peeked open my eyes I saw that we were going back to shore.

"Wuss," Luke muttered. The entire time back I couldn't stop hyperventilating. I tried to calm myself down by taking deep breaths, but in the end they'd just quicken. I'm not hydrophobic or anything. I just don't want to die from drowning. That's one of the worst ways to die.

I know how much Luke hates me, so I felt like any moment now he'll move away from me and watch me sink to the bottom of the lake. I repeatedly whispered to myself that I was doomed and was going to die.

"If you keep talking like that, I won't hesitate to let you drown," Luke snapped. That got me to shut up.

Damn him. I'm at a disadvantage right now. If there wasn't water all around me I wouldn't be giving in so easily.

We finally made it back onto land, yet Luke was still carrying me. How strong is this kid? I'm pretty sure I weigh as much as he does, but he's still able to held me up? I'm not that light. I don't think so, anyway.

He set me back onto my feet and it took me only a few seconds to get used to standing.

I can't believe I'm saying this to him, but... "Thanks."

"Whatever. Don't get used to it," he said, looking down at the ground. Or anywhere, but my face. "I need to go wash myself off, because you were clinging all over me."

I rolled my eyes. "You're an asshole. I'm still surprised you even agreed to help me."

"Yeah, well, that's a one time thing. It's not happening again."

"Geronimo!" Our eyes darted towards the sound and we saw Calum running up a cliff, pulling off his clothes, and jumping into the water below. He caused a huge splash that almost reached me and Luke. Then he came up from the water and shivered. "Damn, this water's freezing!"

"You'll get used to it!" Ashton called out from the top of the cliff. He was getting ready to tug off his shirt until his eyes landed on me. "Mikey! Luke! What are you doing down there?"

Luke and I looked at each other before glancing back up at Ashton who was peering down at us. "W-We were j-just-" I stammered before Ashton started chuckling.

"I meant, why are you down there when you should be here? Come up here and look at this view! It's so cool!"

Oh, that's what he meant. I thought he was wondering why Luke and I were alone together.

To be honest, our alone time wasn't that bad. It wasn't like us verbally grabbing at each other's throats. Of course, he was being his cocky and bratty self, but still.

I was a bit shocked when I started heading towards the top of the cliff, because Luke was walking right beside me. What the hell? Before he wanted to stay away from me or something, but now he's walking right next to me. Our arms are practically brushing one another!

Why am I thinking so much about this? Oh, yeah, because this is UNUSUAL.

Ashton was right. The view was really cool. We could see the entire lake and the land on the other side. Ashton sat at the edge of the cliff and I took a seat next to him, being careful to not slip and fall into the water. Judging from when Calum dove into the lake, I'd say the lake floor is way deeper than six feet.

"Hm? Did you go swimming?" Ashton asked, taking in my image.

"No. I was kidnapped and dragged towards the center of the lake by Hemmings over there." I shot him a glare and he just groaned rolled his eyes.

"Hey, I didn't know you couldn't swim," he said defensively. "It's not my fault."

"You shouldn't've done it in the first place."

"So you're gay, a freak, and a pussy."

"You're gay, too. You're dating Calum."

"Wait, Luke and Calum are dating?!" Ashton exclaimed, standing up from his spot. "Cal! Where are you?! Why didn't you tell me anything?!"

"We're not dating!" Luke yelled. "He's my best friend!"

"You've got some crush on him, don't you?" I began. "You don't even want me near him, because you'll be jealous."

"That's not why! Stop jumping to conclusions, freak!"

"Oh, and you can, already coming up with the idea that I'm gay? I'm into girls! Not guys!"

"Which would explain why you were totally checking out Calum yesterday when he was naked and me earlier this morning."

"I was not checking out anyone!"

"Guys! Stop arguing!" Ashton exclaimed, stepping in between us. "I know you two were alone together earlier, and I'm surprised that you haven't killed each other yet. Why are you two fighting now?"

Instead of answering his question, Luke breathed out, "Freak."

And I replied with, "Brat."

And Ashton groaned, "Oh, my God. Let's change the subject. Mikey, watch me do a flip into the lake!" Ashton pulled me towards the edge, and I got a heart attack when we stopped abruptly at the edge of the cliff. Our toes weren't even touching the surface; they were above air and the lake below.

I watched as Ashton did a front flip into the lake. He pulled himself into a ball during the fall and made a large splash.

"Nice!" I yelled, giving him a thumbs up when he resurfaced. "Now, get back up here and do a belly flop!"

"No! That's suicide!" 

"Well, try a back flip then!" He swam back towards the shore. "Oh, and while you're flipping, yell-"

"CALUM! NO!"

I felt something push me forward, and then the next thing I knew I was going off the cliff and plummeting towards the water. Then...

Black.

-

"... Wait, he's moving!" I coughed up water from my throat and opened my eyes. My vision was blurry at first, but then things started to become clear. Calum was kneeling beside me, his eyes red and his cheeks wet from crying.

"He's coming back to us!" Ashton announced happily. "Cal, give him some space!"

"Oh, my God! Mikey!" Calum exclaimed as he started tearing up. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have pushed you! I didn't know!"

I just let out a single laugh. "You and Luke both." I shot up and began coughing some more.

"We started freaking out, thinking you were dead, but then we relaxed and knew you'd still be alive, because one of us knows how to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation."

I cocked an eyebrow. "English?"

"... CPR."

"What?" Someone did CPR on me? "Who?"

Then Calum's and Ashton's eyes glanced behind them and at Luke who was leaning against the cliff wall.

Oh, my God.


	10. Chapter 10

Luke gave me CPR?

What is this world coming to?

He was looking anywhere but at us. He had a sour look on his face, probably disgusted that he had to do CPR on me.

"Uh-"

"Shut it, freak," Luke snapped. "I had to. Calum and Ashton were in hysterics and were getting really annoying. I would've just sat there and watched you die." Then he stormed off, most likely going back to the campsite. "Don't even bring it up around me. Ever."

But if you would rather have me die, then what about earlier?

He says he hates me and would rather have me dead, yet he still saved my life.

"If only you saw what Luke was like when I pushed you," Calum said once Luke was gone.

I was a bit curious. "What was he like?"

"He looked panicked. Luke called me a fucktard and then told me how you couldn't swim." My eyes widened. Luke really said that to Calum? The fucktard part, I mean. "Then he was already jumping off the cliff and into the water. I got down from the cliff to see if you were okay, and I saw Luke dragging your body onto the sand. Once he set you down, he practically ran up to me and pinned me up against the wall, yelling at how big of an idiot I was.

"Then Ashton came by and started freaking out about how you weren't breathing and Luke went back to you to check if you were still alive. When he saw that you were, he-"

"I get it! I get it!" I interrupted, throwing my hands over my ears and not wanting to hear the rest. I rushed towards the water and began wiping my mouth.

"Luke just got you out of the water, and you're going back in again?!" Calum yelled. "C'mon, Mikey!"

We kissed. Oh, my God, we kissed. Luke Hemmings and I kissed.

But it wasn't for pleasurable reasons. It was to save my life, nothing else.

"That's rude, Mikey," Ashton said. "Luke just saved your life. I didn't see him do what you're doing right now either." I stopped and looked over at him.

"What?"

"He didn't clean his face. When he saw you were starting to grow conscious again, he just... I don't know, ran over to the wall like nothing happened."

I thought that was the first thing he did. What the hell? He must've forgot or something. He's an idiot, anyway.

"But besides that, I'm so glad you're okay!" Calum exclaimed, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into a tight hug. Then Ashton joined and I was being crushed by these two. Then they pulled away and began walking off. "Grab your stuff. We're going to go pack and get back on the road."

"Uh, okay..." I went over to the rock where my shirt and towel were, slung the two over my shoulder, and walked behind Calum and Ashton. Well, I was walking behind them before they stopped just to be by me. They were being all protective now, making sure I was okay. It was irritating me, but hey, friends worry for one another. I don't blame them. I did almost die before Luke came to the rescue.

I still can't believe he rescued me. And if what Calum said was true, about how Luke was like, then I don't know what kind of a messed up world I'm living in. Luke and I hate each other. A lot. If anything, he would've went at Calum's command.

I wouldn't know what had really happened, but I kind of wish I could see it. I wonder what Luke's panicked expression looks like. Did he really jump after me at his own will? How did his lips feel against mine?

Wait, what?

We reached the campsite and I saw that Luke was dressed in a Nirvana shirt, black skinny jeans, and black vans. His hair was to the side of his face, not in its usual quiff that he has it in all the time. He was carrying his things to the car, stuffing it in the trunk.

Why am I watching him? I need to get packed as well.

Calum and I went over to our tent while Ashton went over to his and Luke's. I pushed all my belongings into my bag and Calum said that he'll take care of everything else.

Luke went over to where our fire was and collected the coat hangers that were scattered around. We also left the food out, too, but it's not like they'd get ruined or anything.

And I just realized that I was back to looking at Luke.

He began going my way, and I felt all the blood drain from my face. I was expecting him to say something like he always did, but instead he walked right past me like I didn't exist.

This was something I've been wishing since day one when I met him, but I felt hurt instead of happiness.

Luke was still piling things into the car, and I decided to go over to Ashton to see if he needed anything.

"No, I think I'm good," he said when I asked if he was in need of any assistance. "Actually, you can help me carry the stuff to the car. Or figure out how to bring the tent down."

"Wow, you're horrible," I laughed, earning a pout from him. Once he pulled everything out from inside the tent I began taking the tent down. I disassembled the pieces and then I held the parts in my arms while Ashton had his things.

Eventually everything was cleared. All our things were in the car. Ashton was going to drive again, because he knew how to get back onto the highway, unlike Calum. He said that once we get back on the highway he'll know where we are.

Well, he'd better. But I'm starting to think that I'd rather be lost with these guys and Luke than be anywhere near home. I don't think I'd mind at all.

Calum was sitting in the passenger seat again so that once we get back on the road he could tell Ashton where to go. Luke was all quiet, staring out the window. I didn't feel like pulling out my phone to listen to music. I'd rather listen to Calum giving Ashton directions.

We were only thirty minutes into the drive, but I was already feeling tired. During that half an hour I was thinking. Well, trying to figure out Luke. One minute he's telling me he hates me, then the next he's saving my ass, and then he says he prefers me dead.

Okay, so why was he willing to save me?

I don't know if it's just me, but I could've sworn I caught Luke staring at me. Eight times I counted. Whenever I did see him looking at me he'd do something else as if he was trying to cover it up. Some of the times he would start fixing his hair, other times he'd move his eyes slightly so he'd look like he's staring off into the blue, but one time he just twisted himself around, his eyes glued to what's outside the window.

If I didn't know any better, I would've thought he had a crush on me. But I do know better, and I do know for a fact that what I might've thought is no true.

"Wow, the clouds are coming in fast," Calum said, looking up at the sky.

"Yeah, it seems like it's going to be a thunderstorm," Ashton commented.

... Shit, I hate thunderstorms. As much as I hate being surrounded by a body of water. It's just the loud noises thunder makes that causes me to get a heart attack. I noticed Calum had twisted around in his seat to look over at Luke. Their eyes locked onto one another, and it was like they were exchanging a conversation with simple facial expressions.

I can't say I know exactly what they're talking about, but then again... why would I care?

Fifteen minutes later Luke was passed out. He's always sleeping, that kid. Will he ever be awake during an entire car ride?

He began shifting around in his seat, but he didn't seem to find a comfortable position for him. Then he started leaning towards me and his head was resting in my lap.

I tensed at the feeling, because it felt so weird. Luke Hemmings, the guy that I hate and hates me back, is sleeping on my lap. He didn't seem to be the slightest bit aware of his position. Normally I'd push him off, not caring if he was going to wake up, but... something inside me told me to just let him be.

I think it was telling me, 'Luke saved your life. Repay him by letting him sleep.' And so I did.

The next thing I knew my fingers were brushing the tip of his blond hair. Then I got more courage to let my fingers run through his hair. Luke let out a content sigh and snuggled his cheek against my thighs.

I actually thought that was cute. What the hell?

His feet were on the ground, and I couldn't help but think that he didn't seem like he's in a relaxing position. But if he wasn't, then he'd move around, wouldn't he? Hopefully not as much as Calum does, but still.

My head was against the headrest and I exhaled. I was still playing with his hair, though I don't know why I am.

"God damn it," Ashton growled, slamming his fist against the wheel and making the car honk. I was surprised that Luke didn't bolt up, and I'm slightly glad he didn't. If he was awake he'd start yelling at me and accuse me of coming onto him, which never in a million years would I do. "I missed the gas stop, and we're running low on gas."

"Don't worry, Ash," Calum reassured, pointing at the gas meter. "This will last us for another hundred kilometres. Do you have any idea when the next stop is?"

"Probably sixty-five, I don't know. I just hope we make it before the car dies."

"We'll make it. Stop being a worrywart." Ashton shot him a brief glance before bringing his eyes back onto the road.

Well, I might as well go to sleep as well.

My hand was tangled in Luke's hair, and it sort of felt nice if I just left it there. But just in case Luke wakes up while I'm sleeping, I removed my hand and used my arm to prop my head up as my elbow rested on the armrest that was on the door. Then I closed my eyes and began drifting off to sleep, the last thing that I heard was Calum letting out a high pitched fart.

-

By the time I woke up the car was stopped and we were at a gas station. Ashton and Calum were outside, filling up the gas tank. I looked down at my lap and noticed that Luke was no longer there.

I glanced over to where he was sitting and saw that he was still asleep, but was now leaning against the car door.

Either he moved around in his sleep again or he noticed that he was on my lap and pulled away from me without disturbing me. I expected that I'd wake up to Luke shoving me away from him and yelling at me, but that didn't happen.

Then I heard tapping on my window. I looked over and was looking at some really hot girl. She had really green eyes and this super long black hair that was straight. She was wearing a crop top and Daisy Dukes, but she had the body for it. She had really thick eyeliner, and that was about the only makeup on her face. Simple, yet effective.

I opened the door slightly so I could ask what she was doing here, but then she swung the door open, making me jump back a bit.

"Hey," she said in a flirty voice. "How are you?"

"Uh, okay," I answered. "Do you need something?"

"Yeah, I was wondering if your friend over there could help me and my friends with something?" I glanced behind me. Oh, she wanted Luke to come.

For some reason relief washed over me when she was asking for Luke instead of me. She was hot, yes, but I didn't want anything to do with her. Why? I was totally looking forward to hot chicks a few days ago, and now one is standing right next to me, yet I wasn't the least bit attracted to her.

I looked back at her. "He's asleep though," I told her, but she just shrugged.

"Wake him up," she said, or more like demanded. Sheesh, bossy one, isn't she?

When I turned to Luke, he looked so peaceful. Before I wouldn't mind waking him up, but now I just couldn't do it. However, the girl urged me to at least try, so I did.

I poked Luke's side and he squirmed a bit. Then he groggily opened his eyes and rubbed at them.

"What?" he asked in a deeper voice. Is it wrong that I found it kind of... hot?

"This girl here wants you to help her out with something," I explained, gesturing over to her.

Luke just yawned and shook his head. "No, thanks."

"Aw, come on, cutie, don't be like that," the girl pouted. Cutie? Since when was Luke a cutie? Since when could she call him cutie?

Why do I care? I don't.

"Don't call me that," Luke groaned, "I have a girlfriend." Hm? Oh, right. Aleisha. Forgot about her. Never once did she cross my mind until now. Maybe Luke and Calum really aren't dating after all.

"Oh, that's too bad." Then her green eyes met mine. "What about you? I assume you don't have a girlfriend?"

I frowned slightly at that. Either she's trying to make a move or she's saying I'm incapable of even getting a girl. "I think you should leave." Then she reached across me, unbuckled my seatbelt, and started pulling me out of the car. "What are you doing?!"

"My friends and I need assistance from a hot guy," she said, "and I think you fit that title. Now let's get moving."

"Wai- stop! Let me go!" I started pulling away from her, but then she only pulled back harder. I almost flew out of the car, but I grabbed onto my headrest. "Fuck!"

"Oh, baby's got a potty mouth," she cooed, taking a brief break from trying to abduct me and squeezed my cheeks together.

Arms were wrapped around me and I was yanked deeper into the car. I turned my head and saw Luke hooking his chin over my shoulder.

My heart may or may not have fluttered a bit.

"Fuck off, bitch!" Luke shouted. "Can't you see he doesn't want to go?! What are you, blind or stupid?!"

"You don't speak to a woman like that," she snapped back.

"I see no woman." The girl just scoffed before flipping her hair and storming off. Once she was gone Luke pushed me away and began wiping himself off. I was expecting him to do that, but what he did earlier, defending me and barking at that girl, was unexpected. "Fucking bitch. So annoying."

"Thanks," I muttered, closing the door that was left open. He stopped wiping his Nirvana shirt and glared up at me.

"Next time, for sure, I'm not stepping in," he snarled. "You need to defend yourself. I'm not always going to be there. God, you're so stupid." He slammed his fists against the headrest in front of him. "You fucking irritate me, Clifford."

That was normal for him to say, so I shrugged it off, but I can't say that I didn't feel a bit hurt. I've been used to him saying that for months now, so having a faltering feeling in my chest was uncalled for.

Ashton and Calum were back and entered the car. They had more snacks in their hands and they tossed them at me and Luke.

"Sorry we were late," Calum apologized. "We went to grab more snacks after we finished putting gas into the car. I think we're running out."

"We are running out," Ashton stated. "We're missing a lot of marshmallows, and we didn't even eat that many s'mores."

Gee, I wonder why we have no more marshmallows.

Calum looked over at Luke. "Oh, hey, you're awake! Perfect! That means we can go to Nando's now!"

Luke just rolled his eyes, crossed his arms over his chest and sunk back into his seat. "Whatever."

"Did you not want Nando's?" Luke just shrugged. "Well, we're going anyway. Onward, Ashton the Chauffeur!"

"I'm not a chauffeur," Ashton laughed, "but we're going to Nando's." Then he put the car into drive and we were off to Nando's.


	11. Chapter 11

"Four bros," Calum said to the waitress, holding up three fingers before looking at his hand and then sticking up another finger. The waitress giggled before leading us to a table near the back of the restaurant. We all ordered water and the lady shot Calum a wink before walking off to get our drinks.

Ashton and I sat on one side while Luke and Calum were on the other side. Again, I was across from Calum. It'd be nice if we switched up the seats once in a while. Sitting next to and across from the same person over and over again is dull.

Once our drinks came by we all began looking through the menu to decide what we wanted to eat. I wasn't feeling hungry enough to eat an entire dish by myself, so Ashton offered to split his food with me. Awesome best friend he is, isn't he?

Calum suggested that he and Luke do the same, but Luke just shot him a glare and Calum didn't say anything about it after that. Poor Cal.

I gulped down my water so that way I wouldn't eat too much of the food Ashton and I were going to share.

Once we ordered our food there was this very awkward silence, and we couldn't come up with anything to talk about, so I just continued drinking my water.

"So, did anything happen when Calum and I went to get more snacks?" Ashton asked, looking between me and Luke.

Well, there's nothing I want to bring up. Not even that incident with that weird girl. I don't think Luke would want me to bring it up, anyway, because he got involved, and he wants nothing to do with me.

"Michael almost picked up a chick today, but failed miserably," Luke smirked. That son of a bitch... "That just proves how gay he is." What a fucking liar...

"Luke..." Calum warned. "Stop it." Luke just shrugged before picking up his glass and drinking out of it.

"That did not happen," I muttered, tapping my nail against my glass.

"Then what really happened?"

"There was a girl, yes. She was asking for some help from Luke, but he refused, because he knew she was actually trying to hit on him."

"Are you serious?" Ashton asked. "Wow, talk about a slut."

"On a scale from one to ten, how hot was she?" Calum asked, leaning forward against the table. He looked like he was seriously paying attention to the girl.

"Um, I don't know, an eight?" I answered.

"That's a B." Ashton frowned. "No wonder Luke didn't take up her offer. He's probably really picky with girls."

"He is," Calum sighed. "Every girl that goes up to him, he rejects them. If I didn't know him, I'd say he was gay."

"Calum, you know more than anyone else does that I am not gay," Luke growled, his fingers tightening around his glass. "I'm waiting for the perfect person to come. Those girls may have feelings for me, but I don't return them. If I dated them, then I'm just leading them on. It hurts to get rejected, but it hurts more to be with someone who doesn't like you back."

That's probably the wisest thing I've ever heard Luke say.

Wait... did he just say he was waiting for the perfect person to come? But... earlier didn't he tell that girl he has a girlfriend?

I don't want to ask him, though. He's just going to tell me to fuck off.

When the food arrived I didn't eat it that much. I probably had a bite or two, but then I decided that I wasn't too hungry. Calum was already stuffing his face, Ashton looked at me worriedly before eating the rest of the dish, and Luke was just pushing his food around.

What stinks about right now isn't the food that Calum got, but the fact that no one started up a conversation. This was way more awkward than before Ashton asked if anything happened while he and Calum were away.

For some reason my eyes kept glancing over at Luke. He had stopped eating his food and was now on his phone doing whatever he does. His fingers ran through his hair before they went back to holding his phone, and-

What am I doing? Look away, Mikey!

"Hey, you!" said some random voice as something pushed me over a bit to sit on the other half of my seat. I glanced at the person.

I am too tired to deal with this shit again.

"You again," Luke groaned before going back to his phone. The girl just rolled her eyes.

"Who are you?" Ashton asked, looking at the girl and raising his eyebrow.

"Why are you here?" Calum questioned, taking a bite out of his food.

"I was just here talking to this green-haired cutie," she cooed, pinching my cheeks.

"Please get away from me," I said, wincing at the pain.

"I don't think Mikey wants you here," Calum pointed out.

"Oh, your name's Mikey?" she giggled, placing her hand on my knee sliding upwards. "What a suiting name for someone like yourself."

"Get your hand off of my thigh," I pushed her hand off and she just threw it over my shoulder. It was sort of annoying me at how Luke was completely ignoring the situation, which is weird, because why would it annoy me?

I shot a pleading look to Ashton, mouthing 'help me'.

"You should leave," Ashton said, glaring at her. The girl just continued getting all touchy, and I was feeling really uncomfortable. What is with this girl? Just because she can't get Luke she's going after me.

Even though she's attractive and all, I'd rather have her disappear than be anywhere near me. If she could go flirt with Ashton and Calum, I wouldn't mind at all.

Damn, this girl's really getting on my nerves. If something could just happen, like get her away from me right now, that'd be awesome. I don't care if some kind of demon emerges from the ground and snatches her away, like when Hades kidnapped Persephone, as long as she's gone.

How the hell do I know this Greek mythology? I guess I have been paying attention in my English class.

Suddenly ranch was sent flying her way and the girl jumped up, scoffing and screaming. The dressing had gotten on her hair, face, and her top. Calum choked on his food, Ashton's mouth was ajar, and Luke glanced up at his phone before letting out a loud laugh. All eyes were on the girl, and I covered my mouth with my hand so no one could see me holding back my laugh.

This sounds weird, but thank you, flying ranch. You are my savior.

"EW! GROSS!" The girl scurried off, crying. Well, I feel no sympathy for her. I'm kind of glad she's gone.

Because of her, I'm not looking forward to seeing hot girls that much as I was before, but whatever. I'll just enjoy the trip with Calum and Ashton. Maybe Luke.

"Where did that come from?" Ashton asked. Calum was coughing and Luke was patting his back. Once Calum had finally calmed down, he took a sip from his water.

"That ranch came out of nowhere," Calum said hoarsely.

If I had to guess, I'd say that the ranch came from Luke's direction. But it couldn't have been Luke. He was distracted on his phone. I looked past him to the next table, seeing a family with two little boys who were throwing bits of chicken at each other.

Must've been them. They've got a strong arm if they can get ranch that far.

I took a little bit of food from my and Ashton's plate and popped it into my mouth.

Now I have to go pee.

"I'mma head to the restroom," I told Ashton.

"Mkay, have fun," he said. Who has fun peeing?

I stood up and looked around for the restroom. Once I spotted it, I went over to it.

I saw a girl open the girls' restroom door before she gasped.

"Hilary! What happened to you?!" she exclaimed, running inside.

"Shut the hell up and get this stupid ranch off of me!" the girl, apparently named Hilary, shouted. I decided to lean against the wall, listening into the conversation. Call me a creep, whatever, but I found this funny.

"How did this happen?"

"Some idiot threw it at me, and I was the laughing stock! How humiliating! And it happened in front of cute guys, too!"

I laughed a bit. Thank you, idiot who threw the ranch at Hilary.

I'll stop eavesdropping now, because I really do need to pee.

I headed off into the boys' restroom, did my business, and then went to wash my hands. I was humming a tune from the song that Luke showed me yesterday morning. It's a nice song, and I like it.

Suddenly the door swung open and my eyes instinctively looked over. I saw Luke walk in, and he walked past me, not even acknowledging my presence.

Well, at least he's not making stupid remarks at me. If he had done that before, then we wouldn't hate each other. We wouldn't have known each other. I wouldn't have...

No, that's about it.

Luke stood in front of a urinal, unzipping his pants. There's only one question in my mind...

Why the fuck am I watching him?

"Fuck!" The water suddenly went from warm to burning hot and I yanked my hands from beneath it, hissing in pain.

"Idiot," I heard Luke mumble. Then he walked over to me, sticking out his hand. I looked at it, and then at his face.

"You just took a piss," I reminded.

"I didn't piss on my hands. Let me see yours. You can wash your hands after, you neat freak." I shook my head, going towards the sink. I was slowly putting a finger beneath the faucet to check if it had gotten colder, but then Luke walked beside me, sticking his hand under it. Then the water began to come out.

"It's cold," he announced, grabbing some soap and cleaning his hands before reaching out to mine. I didn't have time to protest before he brought my hands beneath the running water. Then he wiped his hands on his shirt and walked out.

What the hell just happened?

That was probably the strangest thing Luke ever did. Well, he's done weirder stuff, like one time during lunch at school he sucked jelly up a straw and blew it out to spell his name with it. Right on my pizza.

Ashton was kind enough to switch his lunch with mine. I didn't ask, but he told me he knew I wouldn't eat the pizza after getting Luke germs all over it, which was basically true.

But now that I look back, I would've eaten the pizza anyway. I just had to push the jelly aside, that's all. It's not like I was going to die if I ate it.

Why the hell am I still washing my hands? I'm done with that. I think they're turning pruney.

I grabbed paper towels and dried my hands with them. I threw them into the trash can and walked out of the restroom. I could still hear the complaining from Hilary with the ranch incident.

Eh, it's her fault for being thirsty.

I went back to the table and saw that our food were already in to-go boxes. The guys were standing up, carrying the boxes, and headed over to me.

"We're going back onto the road," Calum informed me. "If I'm correct, there should be a city if we go the right way. If traffic's smooth, we'll be there by three."

"We're not going to get lost again are we?" I joked, earning a punch to the shoulder from Calum.

"Once. Just let it go." I jumped back a bit when Ashton suddenly slapped his hand over Calums' mouth. The kiwi was struggling before Ashton finally retracted his hand.

"Gross, Cal! You licked my hand!" Ashton complained. "That hand could've touched anything!"

"By anything, do you mean me?" Calum did an air thrust and Ashton just groaned.

"Mate, you did not just say that." Calum laughed before Ashton hooked his arm around his neck, rubbing his knuckles against his hair. 

"You almost made me drop the food! If we starve to death before we get to the city, I'm going to kill you."

"Idiot, how can you kill me if we're all dead?"

"I'll figure it out." Ashton and Calum are so weird. I'm a bit envious of their friendship. They can joke around with each other and pull pranks on one another, yet still partners in crime.

Ashton's my best friend though, so if Calum steals him away from me on this trip, then I really got no one.

No, I'm not desperate enough to go hang out with Luke. I'd rather be alone than be stuck with him.

Is it bad that I feel like I'm lying to myself?

Ashton and Calum climbed into the car and I was about to get in before a hand was placed on my shoulder and someone's hot breath was next to my ear.

"You're welcome, by the way," Luke whispered, his voice sending shivers up and down my spine. Then he departed from me and went over to his side where his seat was.

You're welcome? For what?

I got into the car and just slumped in my spot, wanting to fall asleep, because the drive to the city is going to be a long one, considering right now is only nine in the morning. I don't know how Ashton has enough energy to drive. If I were to drive... I'm sure we'd all be dead.

And I don't want to die with Luke.

Ugh, I'm back to him again. Damn him. Now just thinking of him irritates me. I'm observing him more than I did before, and before I never did that. I don't think I did. I don't remember, but I know for a fact that I'm starting to watch him more often.

I feel like things are becoming a little more different between me and Luke. And ever since earlier this morning I find myself either looking at or thinking about Luke a lot more.

He hates me with a burning passion, but I'm starting to hate him less. He's still a complete jackass to me, so why?

Why is the hate that I have for him slowly depleting?


	12. Chapter 12

"Guys, let's play I Spy."

"Can't. I'm driving. Need to concentrate on the road."

"No. Fuck you, Calum."

"Shut up, Luke. I'm trying to be entertaining here!"

"I Spy is not entertaining, especially when there's only road and dirt around us."

"We'll manage."

I didn't say anything, because I was sleeping. Well, I'm actually awake now, but they didn't have to know that. I didn't want anyone talking to me, simply because I didn't feel like talking back.

My arms were crossed over my chest and my head was lolled to the side, pressed against the window. I was slightly facing out, hoping I was in a convincing position. I don't know what time it is, and I don't want to check, because that means opening my eyes, and it'll show that I'm awake and I'll have to talk.

"I spy with my Kiwi eye-"

"Calum, we're not playing."

"-a grumpy penguin."

"Me. Now, shut the fuck up."

A smile almost appeared on my face. Almost. I squirmed in my seat, turning my head more towards the window.

"Shh, Mikey's sleeping," Calum whispered. I know it was him, because the voice was coming from ahead of me.

"I know. That's why I told you to shut up," Luke muttered.

Since when did he care if I was asleep or not?

"Luke, can you get the box of goldfish crackers?" I heard Calum ask. "I'mma feed Ashton." I heard shuffling beside me and I could sense movement as well.

"Oh, they're on Michael's side," Luke said. "hold up." The unbuckling of a seatbelt echoed throughout the car.

"Mate, leave it on," Ashton scolded. "I don't want to get in trouble if there happens to be a highway patrol car."

"Don't be like that." The seat shifted and I felt Luke scooting into the middle seat beside me. His upper frame leaned over my knees. His voice strained before he let out a heavy sigh and pulled away. "Damn it. It slid under Cal's seat."

"Just wake Mikey up and have him get it," Calum suggested.

"I'm not waking him up," Luke retorted.

"It'd be easier-"

"I'm getting it." Wow, Luke's stubborn. Not like I didn't know that.

Luke's weight was suddenly on my thighs, and I was about to make my consciousness known and shove him off, but I decided to let it slide. Besides, he's just getting goldfish crackers, that's all.

"Cal, check if the box went to the front," Luke ordered.

"Nope, nothing here," Calum informed.

"Fuck."

"Nevermind, you don't have to get it. I'll wait for Mikey to wake up."

"That's going to be a while, I think."

"Well, what choice do we have? If you can get it without waking him up, then go ahead. Actually, pass up any snack that's on your side."

"Okay, then you're getting skittles." Luke pulled away, and the heat that formed between his body and my thigh began to fade. More shuffling sounds were heard and then I heard Luke hand the bag to Calum. "What time is it?"

"It's two," Calum answered. The way he said that sounded as if he was filling his mouth up with skittles.

"We just passed a sign," Ashton said. "It said that the city is at the next exit."

"Oh, we're not that far. Open your mouth." There was a pause as I heard Ashton munching on the candy. "Luke, wake Mikey up. I want to talk to him."

"Mate, leave him alone. He's asleep."

"If you don't do it, then I will."

"Don't you fucking dare."

"Whoa, okay, okay, calm down. I'll wait for him to wake up."

Since when did Luke care about that? I would've expected him to whack me with a bag of marshmallows to wake me up, but he's actually letting me sleep? I'm already awake, and I can't go back to sleep.

I guess it's about time that I pretend to start waking up.

I groaned and shifted myself around before slowly opening my eyes. My vision was blurry, so I rubbed my eyes and then I looked ahead to see Calum smiling at me.

"What the fuck?" was the first thing I said.

"Afternoon, Sunshine!" Calum exclaimed, feeding Ashton another skittle. What, Sunshine? We're on the stage of nicknames now?

"Um, hi."

"Can you grab the goldfish crackers that are under my seat?" I leaned forward instead of answering him and searched for the box. I saw how deep under the seat it was, but I still managed to get it. I grabbed the box and handed it to Calum. "Thanks, Mikey! You're better than Luke!"

"That's just insulting," Luke mumbled, turning his head towards the window. Calum shot Luke a glare before turning back to me.

"Hey, want to play I Spy?" he asked, trying to give Ashton another skittle, but he just told him to eat the rest of it. Calum then dumped the rest of the candy into his mouth. He crumpled up the bag and stuffed it into his pocket.

I shook my head. "No, thanks," I said, and then Calum pouted.

"Nobody wants to play with me." I feel like he's guilt tripping me...

"Whatever, I'll play." He beamed at me and then opened up the box of goldfish crackers. He grabbed a handful of the snack and picked up a piece before eating it.

"Cool! Okay, when we get to the city we'll start playing!"

"Oh," Luke began, "if that's the case, then I'll play as well."

"Yay! More players! Now we just need Ashton to-"

"Maybe," Ashton said. "Look! There's the city." Our eyes gazed over at the city, and it was large. There were a lot of people walking along the sidewalks and cars were all over the streets.

"I'll start!" Calum exclaimed, shoving the rest of the goldfish crackers into his mouth. He chewed, and swallowed before he began speaking again. "Okay, I spy with my Kiwi eye something green."

"Michael's dog that lives on his head," Luke guessed. Of course he'd guess my hair, but at least he didn't call me a freak. Not yet.

"Don't tell me it's a tree," I laughed.

"... It is a tree." What the fuck, Cal? I thought you'd pick something more complicated, but no. You pick a fucking tree. "Go, Mikey!"

I looked out the window and saw a girl wearing a hot pink top. "I spy something pink."

"The shirt worn by the girl who's too straight for you," Luke said. I glowered at him and he smirked. Why does he keep insisting that I'm gay? I'm nowhere near that. I have nothing against gays, but when someone calls me that numerous times it just gets on my nerves. "Okay, I spy something fluffy."

"The pomeranian crossing the street right now," Ashton said.

"Yep."

"I thought you weren't playing?" Calum asked Ashton, raising an eyebrow.

"I said maybe," he shrugged. "Okay, I spy something red."

"Fire hydrant. Stop sign. Street light. The girl's bow. The guy's hat. The-"

"It was the bow."

"Yes!" Wow, Calum's way too into the game. "Okay, I spy something cute."

"Really? Something cute?" I cocked an eyebrow and Calum turned so he was looking at me.

"Yeah, something cute. Got a problem with that?"

"What do you mean by cute? Like attractive or..."

"Like puppies and kittens and pandas and babies and-"

"Michael."

My face went entirely pale and my and Calum's eyes widened as we stared at Luke. His face was blank and he was just staring back at me. I don't know why, but when he said my name that made my heart skip a beat. Maybe it's because Luke just called me cute?

No, there's got to be something I'm missing here. There's no way Luke's calling me cute. That's beyond ridiculous.

"What?!" Calum yelled, blinking at his best friend.

Luke just raised an eyebrow, his eyes still on me. Then he said, "You guys didn't let me finish. I was trying to tell him to get the oreos that are beside his feet."

I released a breath that I didn't realize I was holding. He wasn't calling me cute, that's a relief. I picked up the bag of cookies and handed them to Luke. He doesn't seem to be freaking out over everything that I touch. It's like he's forgotten that I have the 'freak touch' or whatever.

I just want to go back to sleep.

"Hey, there's a hotel over there," Ashton announced. "I think we'll stay there."

"You sure it's not too expensive?" Calum asked, glancing over the tall building. I didn't count the stories, but there has got to be at least thirty floors, if not more.

"I think it'll be fine. We've got plenty of money on us. We'll check out the city, stay for a day, and we might have to start heading back home."

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Don't worry about that. We'll use the GPS to get home."

"There's a beach here!" Calum was pointing out towards the ocean and the scene was breathtaking. "If the weather clears we should really check it out!"

We parked in a parking lot and we stuffed the snacks into our bags, because we don't know if the hotel will even let us bring food inside.

Once Ashton had us checked in, we were each given our own keys for the two rooms we'll be using. We were given rooms on the seventeenth floor, which is pretty high, but I"m sure the view will b worth it.

"Okay, Cal and I will get settled in our room," Ashton said. "Meet down at the lobby in two hours so we can head out and look for somewhere to eat." It wasn't until Ashton said that when realization just struck me.

Luke. I'm going to be rooming with Luke.

No, I'm not ready for this. Time went by too fast. Can I room with Ashton or Calum again? I'll deal with Ashton's snoring and Calum's constant shuffling in bed, I don't care. Just don't let me be stuck in the same room as Luke Hemmings.

Unfortunately, our rooms were far apart, like my and Luke's room was down the hall while Ashton and Calum's were the first room on the right.

But just because our rooms are far away, it doesn't mean we won't be able to hang out and such.

Once Calum and Ashton entered their room, I trudged behind Luke who didn't seem the least bit phased at the fact that he and I were rooming. I thought he'd be as bothered as I was about all of this?

Or maybe he's plotting some stupid prank, and he's looking forward to it. His plan's being put into action, isn't it? God, I don't want to be near him right now.

Luke unlocked the room and he opened the door, standing there and staring at me.

"What?" I asked him. He pointed at me and then inside the room. I hesitantly walked inside, keeping a safe distance between me and Luke. Once I was inside the room I flicked on the light.

At least there are two beds. I also noticed that there was a balcony, and the curtains for the sliding glass door were drawn back, so I had a perfect view of the city.

"I'll take the bed closest to the door," Luke said, "because if anything happens I'll be the first to escape."

I was going to claim the one closest to the window, anyway. I want to see the city lights at night. It's probably really beautiful.

I stepped over to my bed and set my bag at the end. I took out the snacks and brought them to the table that had the telly sitting on top. I don't think I'll ever use that, though. I'm still feeling a bit tired, so I might as well just take a nap before I head out.

I jumped into the bed, shoving the comforter onto the floor, and pulled the sheets over me. I was facing the window and I just took in the view of the city.

"I'm going to shower," Luke told me, though I don't see why he has to tell me. It's not like I give a fuck about what he does. When I didn't respond, I heard him walk away and the sound of a door shutting.

There was still light out, but not a lot, because of the grey clouds that filled the sky. It really did look like it was going to rain. As long as it's not a thunderstorm, then I'll be fine. If a thunderstorm does come by tonight, then... I have no one to comfort me.

I refuse to seek any comfort from Luke. He's not going to give me any, anyway. If only Ashton and I could room together every single night, then things would've been a lot better.

The pillow my head was resting on top of was cold, but it was soothing as well. It was fluffy, and that felt really nice. The sheets were warm, so it was perfect. This was making me feel sleepier.

I heard the bathroom door open, and I turned my head slightly to see a half naked Luke. I'd be lying if I said I didn't blush. This isn't the first time I've seen him half naked, so why am I even blushing in the first place?

He walked over to his bed, pulling out a towel from his bag. He's not going to say anything to me? I mean, say something insulting? He hasn't called me freak since this morning. Well, he did call my hair a dog on my head when we were all playing I Spy, but still.

I'm still waiting for him to make some stupid comment.

Wait, no I'm not. He's ignoring me, that's good. But I still can't seem to pull my eyes away from him.

Luke looked over at me and my heart stopped beating for a moment, although I don't know why. I really don't. And don't say it's because I got some crush on Luke, because I certainly don't. I hate him, okay? I really hate him.

"Enjoying the view?" he smirked. Usually I'd snap back at him, but I couldn't bring myself to form any words. Instead, my face heated up and I turned away, looking back out the window.

What's happening?

"I'll let you rest now. You'll need it for tonight. You might not even sleep." I turned my head slightly to lookat Luke. He swung the towel over his shoulder and headed for the bathroom, but stopped just as he got to the door. "It's payback for yesterday." Then he disappeared into the bathroom, the sound of running water reaching my ears.

I'm generally never like this whenever Luke says he's going to make me pay. I just brush it off like it's nothing, because it really is nothing, but... I'm a bit scared. right for tonight.

What is he going to do to me?


	13. Chapter 13

I told myself that I was going to sleep, but... I can't.

It's been bothering me a lot. All I did was wake him up yesterday and made him fall on his face. Well, I didn't make him. He did it all on his own.

What he's plotting is probably a billion times worse than yesterday.

Five minutes after Luke disappeared into the restroom, I decided to head over to Calum and Ashton's room. I don't want to be alone with Luke at all.

I got out of my bed and patted my pockets to make sure my room key was in there. Then I headed out to the hallway and went towards Ashton and Calum's room on the other side of the hall.

I was about to knock on their door, but then the door already swung open, revealing Ashton.

"Oh, hey Mikey!" he exclaimed, searching behind me. "Is Luke with you?"

"No," I answered. "He's showering."

"Oh, okay. Can you hand me the key to your room?" I but nodded, handed him my room key, and walked inside. Ashton left and shut the door and I looked to see which bed was his. I saw his stuff on the bed by the door, so I sat down there. I pulled my phone from out of my pocket and went to flappy bird, just because I can.

That game is so frustrating sometimes, but I still keep the app. One minute after I say I won't play anymore, I'm back on it. Stupid game.

I heard the sound of a toilet flushing, which probably means that Calum's in the restroom. I don't know what kind of business he did in there, but I think it's safe if I go out to the balcony.

After playing one more game of flappy bird and getting a score of nine, I placed my phone on the nightstand and walked towards the balcony. It was still light out, and I couldn't wait for night to draw near, because then the city lights will be lit and it'll look really pretty.

But I also dreaded tonight, because whatever Luke planned was going to occur as well.

I slid the glass door open and felt the air hit me. It wasn't as cool as it was inside the room, but it was still cold nonetheless. Then I closed the door and approached the wall that kept us from falling off. It wasn't short enough for me to step over and fall, which is good.

As long as no one decides to pick me up and throw me off the balcony, then I'm safe.

I leaned against the barrier a bit, my arms resting on top. I looked out at the tall buildings and just taking in the scenery. It was beautiful, even without city lights. It'd look very amazing, a billion times better.

I leaned over the wall a bit to peer down. We were really high up, but that didn't bother me, because it was really cool. I was more in awe than struck with fear.

I heard the glass door and I turned around, seeing Calum.

"Hey, Mikey," he greeted with a wave. I waved back before turning back to the city. The glass door closed and Calum appeared beside me, imitating the way I leaned against the barrier with me. "This is nice."

"Yeah," I sighed, scanning over the city. I ran my hand through my green hair and then put it back to where it was on top of the wall. A sudden chill ran through me and I shivered.

"You cold?" Calum asked. I glanced over at him, but he was already rushing inside. Then he came back with a bed sheet and draped it over me.

"Thanks," I said. He was standing beside me, his hands still on my shoulders.

Calum smiled, replying with, "No problem." We just continued enjoying the view of the city. No words were exchanged between us, and I'd rather have it this way. I wanted to listen to the sounds of the city. They were soothing, and I liked that.

I felt Calum pull away and I glanced over at him. "I'm getting cold now."

I spread open one arm, motioning him to join me in the warmth of the bed sheet. Calum simply nodded and then he pulled the sheet over him. Now we were both covered by the sheet. He was wearing a bro tank top, so I could feel his cold arm pressed against mine.

What caught me by surprise was when Calum leaned his head against my shoulder. I looked down at him and his eyes were closed.

"Cal?" I asked softly, but he didn't respond. His breathing had evened out; I guess he's fallen asleep.

His head was on my shoulder in a way where it hurt slightly, but I didn't shrug him off. Instead, I let him stay in that position and I continued staring out into the city.

I was thinking what it'd be like to look at the city lights up on a balcony. I've never done that before, but the thought seemed really nice and romantic.

Yes, romantic, don't make fun of me for that. I'd be lying if I said I never imagined being on a balcony with someone, completely mesmerized by the city lights and the person beside me. Just the mere thought gives my stomach butterflies. I wouldn't mind having my first kiss in a situation like that.

I've never kissed anyone before, so what? My mom doesn't count, and even if she did I wouldn't remember what a kiss felt like, because last time she's probably ever gave me a kiss was when I was four years old.

Oh and I don't consider the CPR one from Luke as a kiss at all, because I was unconscious and he only did it, because Calum and Ashton didn't know how to perform CPR and they were annoying him. Plus, I still didn't get to feel what a kiss was like, therefore it doesn't count.

I really want to stand out on the balcony and stare at the city lights, but I'd rather do it with someone else rather than by myself.

Well, judging by the storm clouds that are rolling in, it doesn't seem like today will be the day that'll happen. Someday.

There were a few knocks on the glass door and I turned my head slightly to see Ashton on the other side. He slid the door partway before poking his head out in between the gap.

"Hey, what are you two doing?" he asked.

"Admiring the view," I answered.

"That's it? That sounds kinda dull."

"If you took your time and did the same, then you'd find it pretty relaxing."

"Right..." His eyes then landed on Calum. "Is Cal okay?"

"He's exhausted, that's all." Ashton nodded before glancing down at the ground. Then he looked back up at me.

"If anyone should be tired, it's me. So I was thinking we could eat at the restaurant by the beach. How does that sound?"

"Great."

"Okay, can you wake Cal up? I need to discuss the plans for tomorrow with him." I gave Calum a gentle shake, but he just groaned.

"Cal, wake up," I whispered, carding my fingers through his hair. "Ash needs to talk to you." He shifted around again, but then only slipped his arms around me, going back to sleep.

"I guess he's pretty clingy when he's tired," Ashton laughed. His smile faded and then he turned back into the room. I tried to see past him, but I saw nothing. Ashton faced me again and then said, "I'll talk with Calum later. We still have plenty of time before tomorrow, anyway." He closed the glass door and I looked at the sleeping boy beside me.

"How can you sleep standing?" I asked, even though I knew he wouldn't answer me. I decided that it's probably best if he's sleeping in a bed.

It took some time, but I finally got to Calum to cooperate with me so I could lead him inside the room. I removed the comforter from his bed and helped him into his bed. He curled up into a ball, letting out a soft snore. I threw the sheets over him and he snuggled into them.

He such such a little kid. I wonder what it'd be like if Luke was like this.

Well, he does act like a little kid, but an immature, bratty one. Not cute at all, nope. But if Luke did that, I think it might be cuter.

I can't imagine him acting like a dependent child. He's so far from that. I don't see myself taking care of him at all.

Why does everything I think of always lead back to Luke? This is getting a bit irritating now.

I was going to head back to my and Luke's room, but I realized that Ashton had my key, and he was no longer in the room. He never handed me his and I don't want to bother Calum. I decided to stay in the room and wait until Ashton gets back.

I was pretty dead tired, too, so I hopped into Ashton's bed, kicked off the comforter and lied down. I closed my eyes and cleared my head.

Almost cleared my head. I may or may have not thought of a certain blond kid with blue eyes that I do not like.

Hate. It's hate. I hate Luke Hemmings. I still hate him. Hate him with every bit of me. As long as I'm alive, I'll hate him.

He hates me. I hate him. It's mutual. It'll always be like that.

I hate Luke Hemmings.

Luke Hemmings hates me.

Luke Hemmings strongly dislikes me.

I strongly like Luke Hemmings.

DISLIKE! I MEANT DISLIKE!

I let out a groan and slapped myself on the forehead, because- what the actual fuck? I hate him. I can't like him.

God, I'm so tired I can't even think straight. I need to sleep.

-

I woke up to the sound of shouting. I groggily opened my eyes and looked to where the yelling was coming from.

It was Luke and Calum. Luke looked really pissed off while Calum seemed as if he was on the verge of tears.

Why are they arguing?

"I didn't do anything!" Calum shouted. "I wasn't trying to do anything!"

"Yeah?" Luke sneered, his arms crossed over his chest. "Then what was that I saw, huh?! Doing it behind my back..."

"It was as friends! Nothing else!"

What are they fighting about?

Wait... could this be about... when Calum and I were alone on the balcony?

Why is Luke getting so upset? No one pulled anything. I wasn't even trying to hit on Calum or anything. Besides, he and Calum aren't dating. He said so himself. Or maybe it's because he doesn't want his best friend and his enemy to get together.

He shouldn't get angry over something he saw and misunderstood. I should probably explain.

I sat upright and then Luke's eyes darted at me. They seemed like they were a darker shade of blue, and you could practically see the anger burning in them.

"I thought I fucking told you to stay away from Calum!" he shouted, storming towards me.

"Nothing happened between me and Calum," I began, speaking softly. I was not going to lose my temper right now. "Why are you so mad about this? Even if something did happen between me and Calum, why should you care who he's with? It's not like you two are dating or anything."

"Because he's my best friend and because it's with you!" Luke yelled. "I don't want you two alone in the same place together!"

"He may be your best friend, but why does it matter who he's with? Besides, you have a girlfriend."

"Wait, you have a girlfriend?" Calum questioned, hurt evident in his voice. I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah..." I said slowly. "He said he has a girlfriend when we were at the gas station." Wait... If Calum's reacting this way, that means he doesn't know about Luke's girlfriend... plus, he sounds hurt over it.

Luke and Calum really are... together...

And that, for some reason, hurt me.

"What the fuck!" Luke cursed as he glared at me. "Why would you tell him that?!" Now my patience is running short.

"Why not?" I asked back.

"You fucking dumbass! Why would you tell Calum that?!"

Now, I lost it. He's angry at me for spilling out his apparent secret when it was his fault in the first place for keeping his girlfriend a secret.

"Why would you even hide it from him in the first place?!" I snapped, standing up from where I was on the bed. "So it's okay for you to get a girlfriend, but it isn't okay for Calum to talk to me?! What kind of a boyfriend are you?!"

"Wha- boyfriend?" Is he seriously doing this now? Acting like he knows nothing? "When did boyfriend come in?"

"You're an unfaithful brat who thinks everything revolves around you! You keep a big secret like your slut of a girlfriend from Calum and get upset with him just for being alone with me?!"

"Wait, Calum's not-" I began taking steps closer to him and he took two farther from me. Then his back was pressed up against the wall.

"Don't deny it. And you call me gay when the fact is you're gay yourself." Luke looked entirely speechless, his eyes wide from what I just said. "Seeing how dishonest you are makes me hate you even more. I thought I couldn't hate you anymore, but I guess you proved me wrong." Luke couldn't look me in the eye anymore. He glanced down at his feet, biting on his lower lip.

"Mikey?" Calum squeaked and I looked at Calum. "Luke and I really aren't dating... I was just surprised he didn't tell me about his girlfriend. I mean, I'm his best friend. He usually tells me everything right away."

"I do tell you everything," Luke finally spoke up. I looked at him and he stared from his feet to Calum. "I tell you every little thing, Calum. It's true, I did say I have a girlfriend, but I was lying."

"Well, there's something you still lied about," I spat and Luke groaned.

"Listen to me, will ya? I didn't want to deal with that thirsty bitch that we saw twice, second being ar Nando's. I knew she was hitting on me, so I told her that I had a girlfriend, and that seemed to have worked."

So... Luke doesn't have a girlfriend? What a relief.

F-For Calum. Not me. That means he's up-to-date with Luke.

"Besides, I'm not looking for a girl," Luke continued, his eyes meeting mine. A smile appeared on his face. "I've got my eye on someone already."

My heart fluttered at first, but then I felt a pang in my chest when I knew he wasn't talking about me. A pang of what? I don't know, but when he said that I just... felt it.

"No more hiding secrets, Luke, okay?" Calum spoke up. "I tell you every dark secret of mine."

"Yeah, I know. Like that one time when you-"

"NO! WE DO NOT MENTION THAT EVER!"

I couldn't help the laugh that escaped from me. I'm glad that these two aren't dating. They've got a special kind of bond between the two, and if they really were dating and they ever split, then things would be awkward between them. This friendship of theirs would be no more.

Luke may be a brat and all, but I would never wish for him to lose his best friend. Look at the relationship these two have.

But now that I know that Luke and Calum aren't dating, that means Luke wasn't upset about Calum two-timing him.

So that means Luke just doesn't want his best friend to get with the ones he hates.

I heard a door open and all of our heads turned to see Ashton, his hair entirely drenched and he was shirtless.

"What the hell, guys?" he asked, throwing his arms up. "I go shower for ten minutes and I hear you all arguing. I need some explaining from you all."


	14. Chapter 14

Calum stepped over to Ashton, slinging his arm over him.

"Before we say anything, how about we talk about what the four of us are doing tomorrow?" Calum said as he led Ashton to a chair and sat him down.

"Oh, yeah! I needed to talk to you about tonight and tomorrow," Ashton began, completely forgetting about wanting an explanation from the three of us. He began going off about how he planned for us to eat at a restaurant by the beach, and Calum was just nodding along. Then the two got into plans of tomorrow, how they wanted to explore the city and maybe check out the beach, depending on the weather.

Luke sat on Calum's bed, watching the two. He'd occasionally pitch in and start throwing some ideas, and the two would agree. I, however, managed to sneak back out onto the balcony unnoticed.

I just really like standing out here and looking out at the city. It puts me into such a calm mood. The sound of cars from below, occasional sirens that happened now and then, it was all so peaceful.

I'm not sure what time it is now, but the day was slowly turning into night. And since there were a lot of clouds in the sky, it was darker than usual.

I heard a rumbling sound and it was very closeby.

There really was a storm coming.

I gulped, because I knew I wouldn't find comfort tonight. There are times where I'd have to go through the storm alone, but most of the time I wouldn't. Ashton checks the weather forecast and whenever he suspects a storm to happen in the evening he comes over to my place and sleeps over. He and I would cuddle close together on my bed, because it helped me through the thunderstorm.

But due to this stupid buddy thing I don't think Ashton will be there, lying in the same bed as I.

I'll be going through it alone.

The thought of being by myself terrified me. I don't know what it was about storms. It's probably whenever thunder cracked through the sky it'd scare me. It'd happen randomly and it'd always catch me by surprise. I didn't like that.

I don't want to be scared, but I can't help it.

Another thunder clap happened and this time it was a bit louder. I didn't want to be by myself if it came back again, so I went inside the room.

The guys were still talking about plans, and I didn't know how to join in the conversation, so I just lied down on Ashton's bed.

"We will definitely check out the beach!" Calum exclaimed as I turned my head to look at him. "I want to go swimming!"

"Then we could probably go and buy some souvenirs," Ashton suggested, "so we can remember this trip."

"Those aren't such bad ideas," Luke said.

"They're pretty good ideas, what are you talking about, Lucas?"

"Yeah, Lukey!" Then Calum faced me. "What do you think, Mikey?" I really wasn't expecting him to call me out. Now all three pairs of eyes were on me.

"Uh..." I glanced over at Luke and he had a look on his face that, for once, wasn't filled with hatred towards me. It was more like he was actually curious as to what I had to say. "They're all nice ideas..."

"Anything you want to add?"

"Not really, no."

"We should do this more often," Ashton began, "go on trips, I mean. How about over the summer we do this again?"

"I'm already excited, and this one hasn't even ended yet!" Calum cheered as he began jumping all over the place.

"What time is it now?" Luke asked. "I'm already starving." Ashton grabbed his phone that was lying on the table beside him.

"It's almost four," he answered. "Want to check out the beach now? The restaurant we're going to eat at is literally next to the beach. We're not going to swim, though. We'll just take a nice stroll, maybe find some seashells."

"Yay! More souvenirs!" Calum ran up to me and grabbed my hands. "Let's go! You'll be my seashell buddy!"

"Wha- okay." I didn't have time to say anything before he yanked me up and led me out of the room before releasing my hand. Because I got up too fast my vision was starting to go black and I was feeling a bit dizzy. I nearly fell backwards before I felt myself fall into someone's arms.

"Watch it," said the person who caught me as my vision was slowly coming back. "I don't want to fall with you."

Just hearing the sound of Luke's voice made my heart race, and I looked up at him to see him staring back at me. He pushed me forward a bit so I was back onto my feet, but I was frozen in place as I kept my eyes on Luke. He rolled his eyes, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and walked ahead of me.

I could still feel his arms wrapped around me, and I may or may not be wishing that they stayed longer.

"Hurry, Mikey, or you'll be left behind!" Ashton exclaimed as he tugged on my shirt and pulled me forward.

-

It took us five minutes by car to get to the beach. On our way there I'd hear the thunder and I'd pull my legs close to my chest, tellin myself it's okay. Again, Ashton was driving, so he couldn't exactly be there for me. He'd glance over at me and worry his lower lip.

Calum didn't seem to notice, and Luke simply didn't care. He was too busy looking out the window.

Even though I'm sitting in the passenger seat I used the side mirrors to steal glanced at him. It'd be awkward looking at him directly. Plus, he'd be annoyed if I did look at him, so the mirror was the safest option.

There weren't any people at the beach, which pretty much meant we had the entire place to ourselves. It was really windy and my bangs kept going over my eyes. Calum was already scurrying towards the water and kneeling down, digging through the sand.

"Come on, Mikey! Help me find some seashells!" Calum shouted, waving at me. I didn't exactly plan on helping. I'll probably just watch as he searches.

I walked over to him and I bent my knees next to him. Calum found a seashell that he wasn't pleased with, so he threw it into the water. I glanced over at where Ashton was and he was walking along the beach with Luke. I wonder what they're talking about.

Wait, no I don't. Why does it matter what they're talking about? It's their business, not mine.

Then I felt Calum chuck something at my shoulder, and I winced. I looked down at what he threw at me, and I looked down to see what it was.

He threw a broken sandal at me.

I glared up at him and he just shrugged. "I found it, and now I'm giving it to you," he said.

"I don't want it," I told him.

"Picky with your gifts, aren't you?" I shook my head and stood up. "Where're you going?"

"Nowhere. I'm just standing up." Calum eyed me before he started crawling over to a different spot to search there instead. I stared at the waves as they slid over the wet sand before pulling back into the ocean.

I don't have any good experiences of being at the beach. I do recall when I was little I went to the beach with Ashton and his family. He and I would stand near the waters and we'd run away from the waves as they came onto shore. At one point we actually went into the water, but then water went into my eyes and I couldn't see anything. The next thing I knew I was being swept away into the sea and I was being pulled underwater. 

That was probably the last time I ever went swimming.

Now whenever I go to the beach I watch everyone enjoy themselves. I just sit on a towel and relax, and it's not that bad. To me, it's better than splashing around in the water. 

I heard thunder again, and I grabbed a handful of my shirt nervously. I was not ready for tonight at all.

"You suck," Calum deadpanned.

I looked at him with a bemused look. "What?"

"You suck at helping me find seashells. Ashton's better. ASHTON!" I glanced over at where he was and saw that he and Luke were just standing a little ways from us. Their heads turned to us and Calum stood up. "Help me! Mikey sucks!"

"I'll be right over!" Ashton called back before turning to Luke, saying a few more words to him before running over to Calum and bending down next to him. "What do you want?"

"Seashells are what I want."

"Are you serious?"

"I'm Calum."

Even though my eyes were on the two, I could see Luke coming over to us. I moved my eyes over to him and saw him run his fingers through his hair as he looked out into the water.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but from this angle he looks kind of... hot. And that's coming from a straight guy.

Well, I'm pretty sure I'm straight.

Damn it, I don't know anything anymore.

Luke finally got to us and he leaned over to see what Calum and Ashton were doing. "Really? You're looking for shells?"

"We're not leaving the beach until I find a good seashell." Luke then stood up straighter and walked off. I watched as he walked towards the opposite direction he came from. "Mikey, stop being a lazy ass and help me find a seashell."

"Why are you so determined to find a seashell?" I asked.

"Why not? I really want a seashell. Is that bad?" I shrugged and bent down. "No, go to Luke. You're horrible at finding seashells."

"Why the hell would you ask me to help then?" Calum ignored my question and I glanced over at Luke. He was nearby a bunch of large rocks and he was leaning over, his back towards me. Well, more like his bum, but whatever.

Every step I took closer to him I could feel my chest pounding. I slowly went over to him and he didn't seem to notice that I was behind him. I cleared my throat and then he turned around, groaning.

"Why are you here?" he asked as he returned to what he was doing before. He's obviously annoyed of my presense.

"Calum told me to come here," I answered.

"I don't need your help. Go away." As much as I'd like to do that, my feet stayed glued to where I stood. Luke noticed that I wasn't leaving and he turned to me and walked over. "Okay, do you want me to make you leave?"

"Calum's just going to send me back here." Luke let out an exasperated sigh before staring down at the ground.

"Whatever," was all he said as he turned away. I didn't know where to look, so I just watched Luke. Then he began walking away, and I didn't know what to do. He twisted around and shot me a glare. "Are you coming with or what?"

"To where?" I questioned.

"We're walking. Maybe we'll actually find something lying around." I hesitated at first, but then nodded before going after him. Once I caught up we began walking.

Luke and I kept our eyes on the ground, but for different reasons. He was looking for seashells and I just wanted to avoid eye contact with him. I guess I'm sort of looking for seashells, but they're the least of my concern.

"Hey, there's one here," Luke said, earning my attention. I glanced over at him and saw him pick up half a mollusc shell. Then my eyes wandered over to something shining in the distance. I approached it and saw a white seashell. I picked it up and examined it.

It was beautiful, the shell. It was in a shape of a cone, and the surface of the shell made it look spiraled, kind of like the swirl of an ice cream.

"Whatchu got there?" Luke asked from behind me, his head right over my shoulder. He looked down at the shell in my hands. "Whoa, that's cool." His arms went around me and he placed his hands over mine.

At this point my heart was going as fast as the speed of light. Luke picked the shell from my hold and brought it up to his face.

"This is an amazing one," he commented. "You've got a good eye."

I could feel butterflies in my stomach, although I don't want them to be there.

I tensed when I heard thunder rolling. It was coming closer, and I didn't like it. Of all the days there could've been a thunderstorm, why did it have to be this one?

Luke must've noticed that I stiffened, because then he pulled away and cursed, "Don't fucking touch me, you freak."

"Hey, you were the one who started it!" I snapped back. He just huffed and rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, let's just get this to Calum." Luke then began going the way where we came from, not even waiting for me. I didn't move for a bit, because I was feeling a mixture of two emotions: anger, because he accused me of touching him, and saudade, because I missed the feeling of being held in his arms.

Why? Why do I feel this way?

I didn't start walking until Luke was a couple of metres ahead of me. He didn't even turn his head to look at me, and I kind of wish he did.

I saw Luke hand Calum something, most likely the seashell that I found. He probably took credit for it, because then Calum threw his arms around Luke, giving him a tight embrace, and Luke returned it.

My chest may or may not have hurt from that sight.

Then Calum ran up to me with a gleeful smile on his face. "Isn't this seashell amazing?" he exclaimed as he brought the shell up to my face.

I was going to say it was, but then I realized that it wasn't the seashell I found.

It was the mollusc one. The one Luke found.

"This is going to be in my room forever!" Calum then let out a squeal that was unmanly in every single way and he skipped over to Ashton.

I caught Luke looking at me and I froze under his stare. Then he started making his way over to me, and I was mentally freaking out, because I wasn't prepared for him to come over to me.

Then he was literally an inch in front of me before he leaned his head in so his face was right next to my ear.

"I believe this is yours," he whispered, taking my hand into his and placing something in them. Then he pulled away and walked off, his touch still lingering on my hands. I looked down at what he put in them.

The beautiful white, spiraled seashell. The one that I found.


	15. Chapter 15

Calum and Luke were ahead of me and Ashton, chatting away about whatever the hell they were talking about. They were too busy in their conversation to notice that I was literally shaking every time thunder roared through the skies.

It didn't go by unnoticed by Ashton, however. He had an arm wrapped around me as we all headed for the restaurant that was literally next to the beach. It wasn't fancy or anything, but it looked decent.

The four of us were lead to a table with a seat by the window so we could see the beach, at Calum's constant request. By the time we were all seated Calum immediately turned his attention to the mollusc shell. He was already attached to it, naming it Frederick and that it is his Frederick.

Ashton was seated beside me, repeatedly asking if I was okay or not. It was a bit annoying, but I know he's looking out for me. What are best friends for if they don't do that?

Luke's been awfully quiet since we got here. He hasn't spoken a single word at all, not even saying anything to Calum. Even if he did try to talk to Calum he'd probably just tell him to go away so he could go back to cooing to a fucking seashell.

It's a seashell. Seriously, Calum? And it's honestly not that amazing as the one that I'm clutching in my hand.

From under the table I glanced at it, taking in its design. I caressed the shell, feeling the surface and the bumps from underneath my fingertips.

I don't know why Luke didn't give this one to Calum. It was a lot more beautiful than the one in Calum's hands, and it would make Calum a hundred times happier than he is now.

I didn't know where to set the seashell, and I didn't exactly want anyone else to see it, so I kept it in my hand.

"What's that?" I heard Ashton ask me. So much for not wanting anyone to see it. Oh well. At least it's not Calum. He'd probably want it, but I have no intention on giving it to him.

Because I found it when I was with Luke.

I showed him the seashell and his eyes widened. "Wow, that's pretty. Where'd you find it?"

I shrugged, "I don't know, somewhere along the beach. It was when I was with Luke."

"So... are you going to give it to Calum?"

"I don't plan on doing that."

"Why not?"

"Because I like this seashell." That's true, but only partially. It's more like a piece of memory of the small time Luke and I were alone. Aside from when he told me to go away and when he called me a freak, that was probably the only time that I actually enjoyed being with him.

Of course, I'd never tell anyone that. Not even to Luke.

My thumb brushed over the side of the seashell, following the lines of its spiral. I've honestly never seen a shell like this, and I'm glad that I get to keep it and that Luke didn't give it to Calum. Even though I wasn't planning on looking for a shell in the first place, this one is special.

I'm not going to obsess over it like Calum who's talking to the shell as if it was a baby, but I will treasure it.

My mind was so focused on the shell that I didn't even look at the menu to see what I wanted to eat. The waiter who was going to serve us was staring at me as he held a pen in one hand and a notepad in the other.

I was about to frantically skim through the menu before Luke spoke up and said, "He'll get whatever I'm getting." The waiter nodded, scribbled down the order, and walked off.

"What d-did you order?" I asked, but it was quiet. Luke still heard me, however.

"Chicken alfredo," he answered. "I'm sure you'll like it." He sent a wink my way and I flushed, hiding my face. How is he causing this effect on me?

_Maybe because you like him._

But I can't like him. He hates me and I hate him. It's always been that way since day one.

_People change._

But I-I like girls. I can't like a guy.

_Again, people change._

No, not me. I'm still the same person as I was before.

Ugh, I need to shut up. I'm practically arguing with myself right now. Okay, clear my mind. Don't think of anything.

Not even Luke. Not his blond hair that's always in a quiff and his blue eyes and his-

NO!

My grip had tightened and I was worred about crushing the seashell, so I loosened up a bit. I opened up my hand to look at it, smiling when I remembered when Luke's arms encircling me. Just thinking of that made my heart flutter.

Okay, maybe I have tiny feelings, but they will wear off. It's nothing more than a phase. Soon we'll be back to hating each other.

The waiter brought us glasses of water and then told us that our food will be arriving momentarily.

I drank some of the water before setting it down. Calum had set Frederick on the table before he looked over at Ashton.

"Okay, so I've been thinking," he spoke, "what if we took a detour on our way back home?"

"What do you mean?" Ashton asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You know, we can take the long way home. We don't have to go through the same route back. Make it interesting."

"And we'll see more exciting stuff! We should plan more about this tomorrow."

"Yeah! And Frederick will help us!"

"Sure, he will."

"He's a she."

"What the hell, Cal? Why would you name her Frederick?"

"You can't just ask something like that!" Then Calum began whispering to the seashell. "He's just jealous, because he doesn't have a cool name like yours." Luke began laughing before calling Calum an idiot.

I don't think I'll ever understand Calum. I don't know how Luke does it, but he manages.

"Can we discuss about tomorrow's plans right now?" Calum asked.

"Yeah, sure," Ashton nodded. Then he turned his head to me. "Mikey, is it okay if you switch places with Cal?"

Wait. Switch places as in... sit next to Luke?

I glanced over at Luke and saw that he was looking at me, wait

"I think you guys can talk just fine like this," I said, trying to avoid having to move. I don't want to sit next to Luke.

"It'll be easier for me and Calum to talk."

"I'll move," Luke said, standing up from his spot.

"Thanks, Luke!" Calum exclaimed as Ashton and Luke switched spots. Now I'm mentally freaking out.

I made sure to avert my gaze from him, but I had to loosen up a bit or else it'd be too obvious that I'm trying to ignore him.

While Calum and Ashton chatted away I was stuck, sitting in complete silence, as Luke was just casually nonchalant about everything.

I don't get Luke. He hates me one moment, and then the next it's like we were never enemies in the first place.

What is going on in his mind?

I glanced over at Luke and saw that he was drinking from his glass. My eyes landed on his neck, watching as he gulped down his water. As he drank his eyes were on me and I froze, feeling the blood drain from my face.

He removed his lips from the glass and parted them, asking, "Why're you staring at me?"

"I wasn't staring..." I muttered, turning my head away.

"I'm not blind, but whatever you say, I guess." He moved a little farther away from me, and that kind of hurt.

Our food finally arrived and we began eating right away. Calum and Ashton didn't get too far with their food, because they were too into their conversation. Luke was halfway done, and so was I. This chicken alfredo Luke ordered for me is really good.

Luke and I finished our dinner around the same time, and the other two still had to get to the halfway point.

I glanced out the window and saw that the sky had darkened, even though it was only ten minutes after five. It was so dark outside I could see lightning in the distance.

Please help me tonight.

"Hey, we'll talk later on at the hotel," Ashton told Calum, earning a nod from him. Then he stood up and went over to Luke who was distracted on his phone

Luke looked up at Ashton and gave him a questioning look. "Do you need something?"

"My seat back," Ashton said, giving Luke a nudge. Luke nodded and stood up so Ashton could have his seat back.

I kind of wish that Luke stayed there, though, because I'm starting to like being next to him.

The lights began to flicker and I tensed, looking up at the ceiling to see the light bulbs grow dim before returning to normal. Ashton moved closer to me, leaning in and patting his hand against my back.

"Don't worry," he said softly. "Everything's going to be fine."

Except everything won't be fine, because I'll be all alone tonight.

"Is there any way you can room with me tonight?" I asked, a bit embarrassedly.

"I'm really sorry, Mikey. I can't. Just... be strong, okay? It's just for one night. You can do it. I believe in you."

From the corner of my eye I could see Luke looking at me and Ashton. Well, more at me. Or was it to Ashton? I can't even tell, because I'm not looking directly at him.

-

Ashton had an arm wrapped around me when we stepped out of the restaurant, telling me that nothing was going to happen to me. I'd flinch every time I heard thunder, but he'd calm me again.

As Ashton pulled me closer to him, I pulled the seashell closer to my chest, because that was also helping me, believe it or not.

The four of us finally got into the car and drove back to the hotel. We went up to the seventeenth floor and stopped right in front of Ashton and Calum's room.

"We'll see you two in the morning," Calum said, waving at me and Luke.

Ashton handed me my room key, telling me to have a good night, but I knew for a fact that tonight will not be good whatsoever.

Once Ashton and Calum disappeared behind the door I looked over at Luke who was just standing there with his hands in his pockets.

"Move it," he hissed before walking towards our room, leaving me behind.

When I heard rumbling I almost yelped, but I bit my tongue back. I ran after Luke, but I ended up running into his back. He twisted around glaring at me.

"What the fuck!" he yelled. "Watch where you're going, freak!"

"S-Sorry," I stuttered out.

"You're being extra annoying right now. Just get in the room, do whatever you need to do, and go the fuck to sleep."

He unlocked the door and walked in, but then he slammed it right before I could go inside.

It's a good thing Ashton gave me my room key back, or else I'd be stuck out in the hallway.

I opened the door for myself, entering the dark room. I saw Luke lying on his bed without a shirt or pants. He was tapping on his phone and didn't even acknowledge the fact that I walked in.

When I realized I was staring at him I averted my eyes from his body, turning bright red.

These small feelings are just a phase that I'm going through. It'll go away.

I just now remembered that he said he was going to do something to me, but he doesn't seem to be doing anything right now. Maybe he forgot? I hope so.

I set the seashell onto the nightstand and slowly pulled off my shirt and pants, feeling a bit conscious that I'm stripping in the same room that Luke's in.

"You know," he began, "you almost costed me and Calum our friendship."

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "I didn't do anything."

"That argument earlier that Calum and I had? Yeah, it had to do with you. I saw you and him on the balcony and I thought you two were flirting. I don't want you two together, because he's my best friend and you're a freak."

Luke calling me a freak never hurt me before, so why did it sting when the word flew from his lips?

_Because the word came from the person you love._

I don't love Luke. It's just small feelings that'll go away eventually.

_Sure, tell yourself that._

Luke began approaching me with an angry look on his face. "I could've lost my best friend, because of you!" I began backing up before I fell back on my bed and he climbed on top of me, straddling me. "I made Calum cry, because of you. I should kill you just for that, but I'm not going to do that, because I'm just nice that way."

"You're far from nice," I snapped back. "Especially when it comes to me."

"I saved your life, got you out of a situation involving that skank twice, and I decided not to do what I was going to do to you. Is that not enough? What else do you want from me?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Wait, twice?"

"Fucking answer, damn it! Why the fuck should I be nice to you?"

"Because maybe it'll fix this stupid feud we've been having for months!"

"I hated you since I first laid eyes on you, and I'll always hate you, Clifford. Don't go thinking that anything's going to change that."

Those words felt like a sword stabbed me right through my chest. I was left speechless, unable to form any words. Luke just kept glaring into my eyes, waiting for me to respond.

Then the words that came out of me were, "I fucking hate you, Hemmings!"

But I didn't. It was far from that now. I said that out of anger and I fought back the tears that threatened my eyes. My stomach had a knot in it, and it wasn't a good feeling. A lump had formed in my throat and it wouldn't go away.

I told myself that hated him, but I didn't.

Why did it have to be him? Of all the people in the world?

Why did it have to be Luke Hemmings?

"Well, fu-!"

Light from outside brightened up the dark room, followed by loud thunder. My eyes went wide, staring blankly back into Luke's. I froze underneath him, fear rushing into me.

This thunder was louder than the ones that I've dealt with back at home. I felt the entire place shake from that, and I was scared.

I wanted nothing more than to be away from here. I wanted Ashton lying next to me.

No, it wasn't Ashton I wanted. It was comfort I was seeking. I wanted someone to wrap their arms around me and tell me that everything was going to be okay. To hold me tighter whenever thunder clapped through the sky.

But the only person who could do that right now was Luke.

But there's no chance that he'd do that, not even for me.

"Michael?" Luke asked, confusion becoming evident on his face. "You there?" His lips parted when his eyes looked at the tears that finally came down my face.

I had let the tears run. I couldn't hold back.

I was beyond scared; I'm terrified out of my mind.

"L-Luke..." I whimpered, choking on my own sobs that almost left my throat. His eyes widened and then he looked out to the window. Then he turned back to me.

"Are you- Are you scared?"

I didn't respond, because if I did I'd end up crying some more. I managed to nod slightly and he pulled away just a littl bit, but not far enough.

"P-Please, Luke..." I whispered, trying my best to not choke on my sobs. "H-Hold me..."

Luke looked taken aback at first, but then he sighed. When he pulled himself entirely away and went back to his bed, I almost cried some more.

He's leaving me to fend for myself.

He hates me that much.

Luke Hemmings hates me enough to leave me alone.

And I hate that I cannot hate him.

When thunder roared through the sky I began to freak out, but then I felt two hands cupping my face. I looked past the tears in my eyes and up at Luke who was hushing me. His face was just above mine and he was only an inch away from me.

"Shh, it's okay," he whispered softly. "Everything's okay. You're okay." More of the tears fell from my eyes. His hands left my face, but he still held one out to me. "D-Don't panic. I'm coming for you. Just let me get my sheets."

Luke quickly stripped his bed of its sheets and he moved over back to me. He moved back on top of me, throwing the blanket over him. Then he leaned down and slipped his arms under me. I brought my arms under his, grabbing at his shoulders and pulling him down on me. My heart was racing right now, from fear and the fact that Luke was so close to me.

Another loud roar cracked through the sky and I stiffened, but Luke just made soothing sibilant sounds and held me tighter as he pulled one arm from underneath me and began running his hands through my green hair.

"It's okay, Mikey," he cooed. This is the first time he's called me by that nickname, and I liked that. If only he would call me that instead of freak.

I pushed my face into the crook of his neck and let more tears escape from my eyes. I let out a sniffle, tightening my hold around Luke.

"Th-Thank you, L-Lukey," I spoke, the nickname just slipping from my lips.

"Shh, don't speak," he whispered as he continued brushing through my hair. "Just go to sleep, okay?"

"But-"

"Be quiet. It'll be alright." I reluctantly nodded and began to relax. My head was now against the pillow under me, and Luke came down with me, his bare chest still pressed against mine.

Thunder rolled and I tensed, pulling Luke closer to me, if that was even possible at this point. "Lukey, I'm still scared..."

"I know you are, but it's okay," he reassured me. "Everything's okay."

I nodded before finally slowly closing my eyes, concentrating on Luke's warmth and his hand in my hair.

The last words I heard before I eventually drifted off to sleep were, "You're okay now, Mikey. I got you. I'm here for you."


	16. Chapter 16

"Michael?" I heard someone whisper. I didn't want to respond nor did I want to wake up yet, because I was quite comfortable in the arms that were around me.

I'm aware that they are Luke's, and that's what makes them a billion times better.

I'm in Luke's arms, and I'm not being shoved away. I liked it.

A blanket was draped over our forms, keeping me and Luke warm. I noticed that our legs were entangled with one another and Luke was lying right beside me. One arm of his was wrapped around my back while the other was in between my neck and the bed, his hand gently playing with the ends of my hair.

My arms were no longer grasping onto his shoulders. They were now in between Luke's body and mine, bent at the elbows.

Luke's head rested on top of mine and my face was so close to his chest.

I want to stay like this forever.

"Mikey," Luke began, "if you're awake I just wanted to tell you that the storm is gone."

I stirred a bit in his arms as I slowly opened my eyes. There was no light in the room, so it must've meant that it was still night time. Or really early in the morning.

"What time is it?" I asked, looking around the room so my eyes could focus. Luke removed an arm from me and reached over to the nightstand, picking up his phone that was apparently on it.

"It's two in the morning," he answered, and then he looked past me. "You should look at the city."

I turned my head to look behind me, and I saw lights from buildings. I squirmed my way out of Luke's arms and stood up, approaching the glass door. I slid it open, feeling the cold air hit my bare skin. Then I felt something being draped over my shoulders and I looked to see what it was.

It was a jacket, and it sure wasn't mine.

"It's cold," Luke said as I glanced at him. "Be careful, the floor might be wet."

Why is he suddenly being so nice to me? Is this something that'll only happen now? In the morning will he return to hating me? I hope not, because I like this Luke better.

I clutched onto the jacket to prevent it from slipping off of me and then stepped onto the balcony, my bare feet touching the freezing ground, and I approached the balcony wall. I gaped at the sight of the city.

It was beautiful, a lot more than how I imagined it to be.

"Wow," I mouthed as I took in the view. I looked up at the sky and saw that there were barely any clouds now. Due to the city lights I couldn't see the stars, but the entire view of the city made up for it.

Luke appeared beside me, his arms crossed and laying on top of the wall that kept us from falling. He was still wearing only his boxers, but he didn't seem the least bit bothered by that.

"Even after a storm the city still looks amazing," Luke commented, his eyes still scanning over the place.

He's being so nice all of a sudden, and it scares me. I'm afraid he'll pretend that this never happened and that he will return to his ways of hating me. If that's the case, then I can't let my guard down, not even for a minute.

No matter the size my feelings are for him, I cannot let him get to me just so he can tear me down again.

I looked down at his jacket that's around me. When I knew he wasn't looking I took in a small breath of his scent. It was relaxing enough to calm my mind for a little before he pulled me back to reality.

"If only we could see this every night," Luke spoke.

"Mhm," I hummed. 

This was just like how I imagined it, me standing beside someone and staring out at the city lights on a balcony. I never imagined it to be Luke, though. I just thought it'd be with a girl, but the feeling I have in my chest and stomach tells me that I wouldn't rather stand with anyone else but Luke.

"I... I've always wanted to have my first kiss in a place like this," I said absentmindedly. When I realized what I had just said I dipped my head down and covered a hand over my mouth, turnign bright red. The words just flew out of me, and I couldn't stop them. Why am I even telling Luke this?

"Really?" he asked, almost sounding amused rather than surprised. He's laughing at me inside, I just know it.

I didn't say anything. I just stood there, completely embarrassed with myself. He already thinks I'm a freak, and now he'll laugh and make fun of me for wanting something like that.

"I-I didn't m-mean it," I quickly spoke, hoping it would be believable enough for Luke to let go. Unfortunately, he still stuck with the topic.

"That sounds like something a hopeless romantic would say," Luke chuckled. He fucking chuckled. He's already laughing at me. "But it sounds like a nice idea."

I kind of wish to just crawl in a hole and die, because I cannot stand another second here while Luke is amused by this.

"I think I'll go back to sleep," I whispered before turning away and leaving.

"This is a one time chance," he called out. "Don't you want to take advantage of it?"

I stopped in my tracks, my heart pounding out of my chest. Is he asking what I think he's asking?

I slowly turned around to look at him. Well, I was more looking at his lips than I was with his eyes.

"What do you mean?" I had a feeling I might know what he's talking about, but I can't jump to conclusions just yet.

"What you wanted. I think you should take the opportunity while it's still in your grasp."

"Are y-you asking me t-to..."

"Kiss me. Right here, right now." I couldn't move from where I was standing, because I was in complete shock.

Luke is asking me to kiss him. He is actually asking me to kiss him.

"But you're a guy," I reminded, almost sounding panicked, "and you hate me."

"You may never have another chance like this again," he replied.

I may or may not want to kiss him, but I'm afraid of what will happen after. What if he goes back to hating me? I wouldn't be able to live with myself, giving away my first kiss to someone who will never like me back.

So I did what I had to do.

"I can't..." I muttered, looking down at my bare feet.

"What?" Luke asked, surprised.

"I can't do it. Not with you. I want it to be with someone special, someone who I know loves me, someone who will not hate me after the kiss. And you're not that someone."

There was a silence lingering in the air before Luke pushed past me and stormed into the room.

"Whatever. I didn't want to kiss a freak, anyway. It was only a suggestion." Then he pulled off his sheets from my bed and climbed into his, his back facing me.

I slid the glass door closed and turned out to the city. I buried my face into my hands, because the only chance I had to kiss Luke had gone away.

This outcome was exactly what I was afraid of: Luke would hate me and everything wouldn't be okay between us.

I went over to a corner and pressed my back against the wall and slid to the ground, my face still in my hands. Then I let the tears fall and cried silently.

Luke's jacket and his scent was not helping me at all.

I pulled my knees close to my chest and wrapped his jacket around me and my legs. 

I kind of did want to kiss Luke, but I was afraid. I could've done it, but I didn't and now there's no chance.

It's never happening again.

-

 _"What's with the hair, mate?" I heard someone ask me while I was searching through my locker. Obviously this person's going to insult my hair, but I don't give a shit about who likes my hair and who doesn't. I like it, and that's all that matters._

_"Got a problem with it?" I snapped back, not even bothering to turn to the person._

_Damn it, where's my stupid history book?_

_"It's weird. What are you really? Ginger? Brunet?" What is up with this guy? Why does he even bother to carry on a conversation with me?_

_"Blond." Maybe he'll get off my back now._

_"What's your name?" Nope, he's still here._

_"Nunya," I answered, smirking before saying, "Nunya business."_

_"You're a sassy one, aren't you?"_

_Okay, now I'm officially annoyed by this kid. I'm going to be late to class, and this guy's holding me back._

_I slammed my locker shut and walked off, completely ignoring the guy. I didn't even see who it was, and I don't plan on turning around to check._

_"Whatever," he began, raising his voice, "go walk off with your stupid hair and clothes!" I froze in my tracks and then slowly turned around to look at him. He had a blond quiff and a lip ring, his eyes were blue, and he was literally wearing an outfit that was the same taste as mine. He was grinning like a fucking idiot._

_What the fuck is with this brat?_

_I'm seriously pissed off by this guy right now. I marched up to him and then poked his chest roughly with my finger._

_"We have the same taste in style," I hissed. "What makes mine so stupid?"_

_"The fact that your hair is stupid," he said casually before a grin formed on his face. "You should just shave your head."_

_Now I was beyond pissed. I know I should just not talk to him and walk off, but I was way too angry to think rationally. Instead, I snapped back, "Who the fuck do you think you are?"_

_"Luke Hemmings. Got it memorized? I doubt you'll ever forget it."_

_"You're pretty fucking cocky."_

_"I am pretty when I'm fucking at all."_

_I can't deal with this fucking brat right now. I'm going to be late to class. I groaned before turning around and storming off. I noticed Ashton was looking my way, so I went over to him._

_"Stupid Luke Hemmings," I growled under my breath._

_"What did he do?" Ashton asked._

_"He made fun of my hair."_

_"You usually don't care about that."_

_"Then he made fun of my outfit."_

_"Okay, now I'm just confused." I shook my head as we made our way to history._

_"I've never seen him around before," I said._

_"He's always been here since the first year. I guess you just never noticed him until now."_

_Well, whoever that Luke Hemmings guy is, he sure didn't leave a good impression, because I fucking hate him now._

_I fucking hate Luke Hemmings._

-

Never in a million years did I think I'd ever fall for the same brat.

I sneezed, wrapping Luke's jacket around me some more. I was feeling really cold, considering I'm only wearing boxers and Luke's jacket. I must've fallen asleep out in the cold. That's not good.

I let out another sneeze out. I should go back inside now. I don't want to get sick if I'm not already.

I stood up, but when the cold air hit my skin I curled up back into a ball, making Luke's jacket hug me tighter.

It's too cold for me to move.

I heard the glass door open and I glanced up to see Ashton.

What is he doing here?

"Oh, my God, Mikey!" he exclaimed running over to me. "What are you doing out here at four in the morning?! I know you like the city lights, but this is ridiculous!"

"Why a-are you h-here?" I said, my voice a bit shaky from being cold. Ashton placed his hands on my cheeks and then pressed his forehead against mine.

"God, you're freezing! Let's get you inside, okay?" He's not answering me, but whatever. It's not like it's of my concern.

When Ashton helped me inside I saw Calum standing in front of Luke who was sitting upright on the bed, his back still facing me. Calum had his arms crossed over his chest as he glared down at Luke.

"I can't believe you left Mikey out there!" Calum yelled. "I know you're not fond of him, but to let him freeze to death is an unspeakable action!"

"Hey, he chose to stay out there," Luke said. "It's not my fault if he dies. I don't give a shit about him." Calum smacked Luke, the sound echoing the room and leaving it in complete silence.

Ashton and I gaped when Luke's head was turned to the side. Luke's hand reached up to touch his face, and then he looked at Calum

"What the fuck, Cal!" he shouted.

"You're a fucking idiot, you know that? Mikey doesn't deserve this at all, especially not from you." Then Calum went up to me and pulled me away from Ashton. "Come on, let's go."

"Wait, where are you taking him?" Luke asked as he quickly stood up and rushed over to us, but Calum pushed me behind him. 

"To my room. He's sleeping with me tonight."

"You can't do that! H-He didn't agree to it!"

Then Calum looked at me. "Would you rather stay here with Luke or come with me?"

I just stared back at him with wide eyes, because I didn't know how to answer that. I didn't want to room with Luke, but I didn't want to leave him as well.

I glanced over at Luke and saw that he was glaring at me, like he wants me to leave.

"I'll..." I began, but I really didn't know what to do. Should I go with Calum or stay with Luke? "I'll go with C-"

I was interrupted when Luke grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from behind Calum and towards him. He wrapped his arms around me tightly, not letting go. I was shocked by this action, because I really wasn't expecting this to happen.

"He's staying, Cal," Luke stated, "and that's final."

"You can't decide for him," Calum said. "Besides, he already said he wanted to leave. Let him go."

"No. He stays with me." My heart was beating really fast and I felt my face heat up.

"Luke, just stop," Ashton spoke up, approaching us slowly. "You've had too many chances, and leaving him out was your last." When Ashton reached out to pull me away from Luke, Luke only twisted himself around so he was separating me from the others.

"I said he's staying."

"We heard you the first time," Calum started, "and we're saying no. Even Mikey wants to leave."

"Then why isn't he shoving himself away from me? If he wants to leave, then he'd push away." When I put my hands to his chest and tried to push him off, he only tightened his hold on me.

The more he resisted, the more it made me want to stay. I only said I was going to go with Calum, because I couldn't be in the same room as Luke, but he's fighting Ashton and Calum just to have me stay.

I don't understand you, Luke. Why?

"I'm done playing here, Luke," Calum groaned, rubbing the side of his head. "Just let Mikey go."

"Mi-" Calum reached around and grabbed my wrist, but Luke pulled me farther away. "Mikey's mine!"

The room fell silent and Ashton and Calum were staring at Luke with wide eyes. Even I was gaping, but I couldn't bring myself to look at him. Then Luke buried his face into my neck.

"I'm so sorry, Mikey," he mumbled. It sounded like he was struggling to say those words. "Please, please don't leave me. I'm so sorry for everything. I want you to stay. Please stay. Don't go."

Then I felt something wet slide down my neck.

Are those tears?

Luke is crying?

"Why would I stay with you if you hate me?" I muttered, but he shook his head.

"I... I don't hate you, Mikey..."

"What?" If it was even possible, his arms tightened some more around me.

Then he whispered, "I love you..."

I felt my eyes start to water, because I couldn't believe it.

Luke doesn't hate me. He loves me.

Luke Hemmings loves me.

But I was having a hard time believing it. It was all coming so fast, and I was still trying to process the fact that he just said I was his when I never was in the first place.

Am I still dreaming or am I dead? Because this couldn't be real.

He pulled away and looked me in the eyes. "This wasn't how I wanted to confess," he said to me, wiping his eyes, "but I had to, or else Calum was going to take you away from me. Just know that it's true. I don't hate you, okay? I love you." I couldn't form any words. I just stared at him, trying to find a sentence to say.

What do I do? Do I tell him I like him as well? No, he said he loves me. I have small feelings. Just miniscule ones. Miniscule ones that are growing larger.

Wait, why should I believe him? Earlier he said he hates me and nothing's going to change that, so why is it all of a sudden he's confessing to me?

I don't believe Luke at all.

"I understand that you hate me, but just know that I don't hate you, okay?" I still didn't say anything, and then Luke began to look panicked. "Please say something, Mikey."

I looked over at Ashton and Calum and ordered, "You two. Get out."

They didn't hesitate to scurry out of the room. Once they were gone I pulled out of Luke's arms and glared into his eyes.

"What are you trying to pull?" I asked, earning a confused look from him. "Is this a joke or something? Why should I believe that you love me after every bad thing you've said to me?"

"You don't have to believe me, but I do love you," he answered.

I wanted to believe Luke, but I couldn't. What if he's only messing with me? What if I told him about my feelings and then in the end he was only joking around?

I needed him to prove it.

To prove that he really does love me.

I grabbed him wrist and began pulling him out to the balcony. At first he resisted, but he eventually let me lead him out. Once we were outside I closed the glass door and brought him closer to the balcony wall.

"Mikey, we shouldn't be out here," Luke protested. "You're freezing. You're going to catch a cold."

"You seemed to have no problem with leaving me out here earlier," I snapped back.

"I was angry, okay? You rejected my offer to let me kiss you, and I got upset over that. I wanted to kiss you so badly, but I didn't want to force myself on you. I didn't want to make my feelings too obvious, so I made up an excuse for you to kiss me."

"And that excuse being...?"

"That after today, there'd be no chance of this kind of thing happening again." I crossed my arms over my chest and just stared at him.

"Prove yourself."

"What?"

"Prove to me that what you say is true. Kiss me."

"Only if you let me." He stepped closer to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "May I kiss you?"

The anger that was inside me was starting to go away, because when I looked into his blue eyes he looked sincere. It didn't show any hint of him playing with me. His eyes looked into my eyes before they flickered over to my lips. He started to lean in, but then stopped when our noses brushed.

"May I kiss you?" he repeated softly this time.

Then I closed my eyes and brought my arms around his neck. "... Yes."

Luke then closed the gap between us and our lips met. I felt sparks, more like fireworks, in the kiss. Then our lips began moving in sync, and I liked that.

It was almost like our lips were meant to be together.

Then I broke the kiss and gazed into his eyes. He had a smile on his face. It wasn't a smirk and it wasn't in a mocking one either.

It was more like a genuine smile filled with happiness.

"Is this why you took me out here?" Luke chuckled. "Just so you can have your first kiss the way you wanted it?"

"Maybe," I smiled back, and I was a bit surprised when he pressed his lips to mine again.

Then he pulled away. "Was that okay?" I pretended to think about it, but then that made Luke worry. "S-Sorry if it wasn't..."

"It was perfect," I told him.

"... Could I do it again?"

"Do you have to ask that every single time you want to kiss me?"

"Is that a yes?"

Luke's being so cute right now, it's making me smile. "Yes, it's a yes." I took the initiative this time, kissing him as I pulled him closer to me. He did the same, one of his hands running through my hair.

"I love you, Mikey," Luke whispered.

"Don't call me that," I said seriously. He frowned and looked a bit hurt. Then he hung his head as if he was ashamed of himself.

"I'm sorry..." Luke's pouting, and it's really adorable. I lifted his chin up and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. His eyes widened, shocked by what I did, making me smile.

"Call me yours."


	17. Chapter 17

Luke confessed his feelings to me, we kissed four times, we cuddled in my bed and fell asleep, and then the next morning I woke up with no one next to me. In fact, when I woke up Luke was in his bed, sleeping soundly.

I checked the time and saw that it was eight in the morning. It was never exactly given when we were supposed to meet up with Calum and Ashton. I couldn't go back to sleep, because the events of what happened were running in my head.

I still couldn't believe Luke said he loves me. It gave me butterflies just thinking about it. And when his lips were against mine, it just made me feel like I was on top of the world.

I got up from the bed and went over to my bag. I slipped off Luke's jacket, pulled out a new set of clothes, and then carried them to the restroom.

After I showered and cleaned myself up I was back into the room. Luke was still asleep, his lips slightly parted. I smiled a bit before I approached him, poking at his cheek.

"Wake up," I said, "you need to get ready." Luke grumbled before waving his hand at me and flipped onto his other side. "Seriously, get up."

"Five more minutes," he muttered.

"That's what they all say, but they don't mean it." I climbed onto his bed and plopped myself right on top of him. I heard him grunt before he tried to shove me off.

"Get off of me."

"Get up."

"Seriously, Cal, this isn't funny."

"... I'm Michael."

Suddenly he was frantically scrambling off the bed and he fell onto the floor. I was left sitting on his bed confused by his action. When he got back onto his feet he stared at me with wide eyes.

"What the fuck? Why were you on top of me?"

"I was trying to wake you up, and that seemed to have worked."

"Don't do that again." He muttered something under his breath before he went back to the restroom. I raised an eyebrow once he disappeared behind the door, because I was slightly confused.

It's almost as if he's acting like nothing happened.

I sat in my bed, playing with my phone. I forgot to charge it, so I guess I can't really use it today. It's only on fifty percent, but I need to save its battery.

Luke walked out of the restroom wearing a black shirt and black skinny jeans. His hair was up in his usual quiff and he walked over to his bed. His eyes landed on his jacket and he raised an eyebrow.

"Why is my jacket on your bed?" he asked. "I thought it was in my bag?"

"You let me wear it yesterday," I reminded. "You gave it to me and let me wear it."

"Huh. That's weird..."

What's so weird about that?

Luke walked over to his jacket, picked it up, and then threw it onto his bed.

... Are we not going to talk about what happened four hours ago?

"Hey, Luke?" I began, earning his attention. "What are we?"

"Hm?" he hummed as he pulled out a water bottle out of his bag and began drinking it.

"I mean, are we dating now?" He spat out his water and began coughing like crazy. I jumped up from my spot and ran over to him. "Are you okay?"

"No!" he shouted, capping his water bottle and tossing it on the bed. He let out another cough before clearing his throat and looking at me. "What do you mean 'dating'?!"

"Well, you told me that you loved me." He gave me a confused look.

"Are you sick or something?" Luke then brought his hand over my forehead. "You don't feel like you're burning up."

Is he serious right now?

I whacked his hand away. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Sorry for asking if you're sick."

"Are you fucking serious, Luke? Do you not remember anything that happened last night?"

"... You were crying and you asked me to stay with you through a thunderstorm. Is that it?"

Oh. My. Fucking. God.

"Okay, you know what? Fuck you, Hemmings." I pushed past him and marched towards the door, but then he grabbed my wrist and twisted me around.

"Wait, what did I do now?"

"What did you do?" I repeated. "What did you fucking do? You confessed to me, you cried on my shoulder and asked me to stay, and then we kissed. We fucking kissed, Hemmings."

"Are you sure that really happened?"

... Holy shit.

I don't think I've ever punched someone so hard in my life. In fact, I've never punched anyone at all until this point.

I watched as Luke fell back, clutching his cheek and crying out in pain.

"I fucking hate you!" I shouted before slipping on my shoes and running out of the room.

What the fuck is wrong with him? Why the hell is he acting this way?

I stormed up to Calum and Ashton's room and was about to knock before a thought hit me.

What if everything I thought of was a dream?

No, it couldn't have been. It all felt so real, so vivid. There's no way it'd be a dream.

It wasn't a dream. It was real. I know it is. Calum and Ashton can confirm that.

I knocked on the door and then a few seconds later it opened to reveal Calum.

"Oh, good morning, Mikey!" he exclaimed. "How are you and Luke now?"

"Fucking terrible," I told him. "He's pretending that everything last night never happened!"

"Wait, what happened?" I walked into the room and Calum closed the door

"He confessed to me and we kissed and we cuddled, and then he has the fucking balls to say it wasn't real!"

"What the heck?" Calum raised an eyebrow. "What is wrong with him?!"

"He confessed to me, right?"

"Yeah, he did! Ashton and I were there! We saw him practically begging you to stay, and now he's acting like this? Oh, hell no." Calum went up to Ashton who was still asleep, grabbed a pillow, and then slammed it on top of him. "Wake up, Ash! We have some serious talking to do!"

"What did I do now?" Ashton mumbled.

"Not you! We have to talk to Luke! He's being a jerk, pretending that he knows nothing. That idiot." Calum then rolled Ashton off of the bed before he marched past me and to the door. When he swung the door open Luke was standing right there, one hand on his cheek.

"Why did you punch me?!" he yelled at me. I was going to shout back, but then Calum stepped up.

"How could you not remember anything that happened last night?!" Calum snapped back. "It was a very important moment for you two! You finally confessed to Mikey, and now you're acting like this!"

"What? I never confessed, what are you talking about?!"

"Bullpoop! Ashton and I were there when you were pouring out your heart to him! Huh, Ash?!"

"Mhm," Ashton mumbled. I found it quite funny how even though Calum shoved him off the bed he was still asleep. "We were all there."

Calum put his hands on his hips. "Must I slap you again, Lucifer?"

"Again? You never slapped me. Well, you did slap me in my dream..." I gaped at him.

"Your dream?" I raised an eyebrow, crossing my arms over my chest. "You think you were fucking dreaming?"

He furrowed his eyebrows, but then realization suddenly hit him.

"Oh, my God," he breathed out. Calum bumped the palm of his hand to Luke's forehead, muttering 'Idiot'. "It was real..."

"Yeah, it was, you dumb butt!" Calum barked. "You thought it was a flipping dream? Now go have sex and make up!"

"What the fuck, Calum?!" I shouted.

"Holy shit, it's not a dream..." Luke muttered.

I glanced over at him, and then suddenly he pulled at my shirt and wrapped his arms around me.

"Mikey, I'm sorry!" he quickly said. "Forgive me, please! Please, don't hate me! I was being a complete ass and I deserved that punch in the face, but please, don't hate me!"

"Uh..." I just stared at him awkwardly. However, relief filled me when I knew that Luke thought that the events of last night were a dream. And the fact that he's hugging me and begging for my forgiveness shows that he really meant what he said.

"God, Luke, you're such an idiot," Calum laughed before he went over to Ashton, nudging his side with his toe. "Get up, loser, we're going exploring."

"Can you not, Cal? Oh, my God." Ashton forced himself to stand up and he trudged into the restroom. I squirmed out of Luke's arms, much to his reluctance.

"Okay, now you two lovebirds get out and go frickle frackle in your room," Calum said, pushing us out.

"Shut up, Calum," I snapped.

"I wouldn't mind," Luke commented.

I smacked the top of his head. "Doofus."

"Have fun!" Then Calum shut the door. Not even a second later Luke was already pushing me against the wall. He brought his face closer to mine, but I turned my head slightly.

"Luke, not here," I whispered. "We're still out in the hallway."

"Just one kiss," he said, his breath hitting my skin. "I want to make sure this is reality."

"I can assure you, it is." He planted his lips onto mine and I wrapped my arms around his neck. He settled in between my legs, his hands reaching down to pull me up and used his hips to keep me up.

The kiss deepened, but then I heard a gasp. I pulled away from Luke and looked at where the noise came from.

There was a little girl standing right behind Luke with her mouth ajar and staring at us with wide eyes.

"Oh, my God," I breathed out, hiding my face in Luke's shoulder. I could tell he turned his head around, probably to look at the girl.

"Run along, little girl" he said, almost too rudely, "nothing to see here." I peeked open an eye and saw that the girl was still standing there. Then she took a step back before running down the hall, crying out for her mommy. "Why the hell are parents letting their kids run around so freely without supervision?"

"You idiot!" I scolded. "This is why I didn't want to do it here!"

"But we're not doing it," he smirked. "We're just kissing."

"Can we just get back to the room, please?" Luke nodded before carrying me back to the room. I tried to get out of his hold, but he refused. "I can walk."

"Not after I fuck you."

"Oh, my God, just... no." Luke laughed before finally setting me down. We headed back to our room, and since I didn't have my key Luke had to open the door. I stepped into the room and he followed, closing the door behind him.

"Damn faggots," I heard a woman say from the hallway, "corrupting the minds of little children."

There's nothing wrong with two guys making out, stupid bitch. 

I let out a sigh, shaking my head, and plopped onto my bed. Then Luke sat on the edge of my bed before he lied down next to me, slipping his arms around me.

"I'm sorry, I do love you," he spoke quietly, "don't think otherwise."

"You kind of just said that out of nowhere, though," I said, pulling myself closer to him.

"I know, I just... I don't know, it came out of me. But it's true."

"It better be." Luke pushed his leg in between both of mine and I dipped my head slightly. "How long have you felt this way?" I really wanted to know, because for the majority of this trip he's been mean to me. He can't just suddenly have feelings for me just because Calum was going to make me sleep with him.

Okay, that sounded wrong. I meant room with him.

"Quite some time," he answered.

"How long is that?"

"I don't know, a... few weeks, I guess..." He seemed like he was embarrassed when he said that, because then I could feel his face nuzzle into my hair. "I just thought it was something that'll go away, but it never did, and I ended up falling in love with you. But I couldn't tell you, because you hated me, so I kept up the facade that I still did..."

"It would've been better if you just started being nicer to me."

"I'm sorry."

"Whatever." Then he tightened his arms around me, rubbing his cheek against the top of my head.

"No, not whatever. I was being a dick to you even when I liked you. I didn't know how to express myself to you, so, like I said, I pretended to still hate you when in reality it was the opposite. Please, don't hate me. I love you."

It was still hard for me to fathom the fact that he actually loves me considering that for the past few months we were practically at each other's throats.

"Do you love me back?" he asked.

"I like you," I answered.

"But do you love me?"

Did I love him? I have a crush on him, that's a definite, but was it big enough for me to call it love?

"I only realized that I like you yesterday... It's too soon for me to tell if I do."

Luke smiled, "At least you like me. I'll keep telling you that I love you until you do, but even after that I'll keep telling you."

"You're not messing with me, are you?"

"I may seem like a complete asshole, but I would never joke about my feelings to anyone. Not even to you."

"This is all just so sudden."

"But you're mine now, and that's all that matters. One day you'll tell me you love me." Then Luke climbed on top of me, positioning himself in between my legs. Then he leaned in to press his lips against mine. He pulled his arms from under me and used his elbows to prop himself up. He'd break the kiss for a brief moment to whisper 'I love you' before returning to kissing me again.

"Okay, I get it, you love me," I mumbled, pulling my lips away from his.

"I'll still remind you," Luke said, kissing me on the cheek on the cheek. His mouth left a trail of kisses until he was at my neck. I suppressed a moan from escaping as he began to suck. He began to rub his hips against mine, but I stopped him by pulling myself up.

"Not now, you'll get hard," I said, "and I have no intention on taking care of it."

"Fine," Luke frowned, before he brought his face back up to mine. "But for the record, I'm already hard."

"I think we're done for the day." I shoved him off the bed before making my way for the door.

"Miiiiiikey," Luke whined from where he was on the ground, making me smile. I was enjoying this too much. I stopped right in front of the door before I turned around. Luke was scrambling onto his feet and hurrying over to me. He threw his arms around my waist, saying, "I love you."

"You are a clingy one, aren't you?" I laughed.

"I am very possessive. This is what happens when you make me fall in love with you."

"I didn't do anything."

"Not intentionally, but you did what you did." He kissed my cheek. "I love you, Mikey. One day you'll tell me the same thing."

I have a feeling that that one day will be soon.

There was a knock on the door and Luke groaned before reaching for the door knob and swinging it open, one of his arms never leaving me. Calum and Ashton were standing there, waving at us before they dropped their hands.

"Did we interrupt you two?" Ashton asked.

"No," I said.

"Yes," Luke growled.

"We can wait another hour," Calum spoke up. "Go do the frickle frackle."

I wiggled my way out of Luke's arm and snapped at Calum, "Let's leave now." I grabbed Ashton's wrist and began dragging him away from the others, because I needed to talk to him about Luke.

While we were going down the hallway, I heard Ashton say to me, "Nice hickey."


	18. Chapter 18

Somehow I ended up being next to Luke again while Calum and Ashton were ahead of us, chatting away about all the places they wanted to explore. Since the weather now was sunny they decided that after we explore around the city we'd go to the beach. Frist we'd return to the hotel, grab our beach stuff, and then head over there.

We were currently in a place where there were mutliple shops and Calum was pointing out a bunch of stores with useless knickknacks and then he'd drag Ashton inside with him, leaving me and Luke alone with each other.

When they were gone Luke would snuggle close to me. I'd just groan at how clingy he was, but I honestly didn't mind it at all; he's cute this way.

"Even when you're not insulting me you're still annoying," I told him when his arms snaked around me.

"I'm simply expressing my love, that's all," he said. "Do you know how long I've had to keep it in?"

"You had a strange way of showing it by being a douchebag to me."

"I'm horrible at expressing my feelings, I'm sorry. Punish me however you want to."

"I already punched you, and I've never punched anyone in my life. I'm pretty satisfied with that."

"Well, don't I feel special." I could hear the sarcasm in his voice and I laughed. I could feel his phone buzzing in his pocket and he pulled it out. I took the opportunity to look at the screan.

A message from Aleisha McDonald.

"What's that?" I asked, pretending I didn't know.

"A message from no one important," Luke grumbled, stuffing his phone back into his pocket. Well, at least he's ignoring her. Luke giving me all of his attention may be annoying, but I'd rather have that than have him talking to Aleisha.

She's okay, but not when when it comes to Luke. She acts like she owns him, which is something I'm not fine with now since now she's considered my rival. Well, not much of one, since Luke is apparently attracted to the Cliffoconda.

"Your hair is so fluffy," I heard Luke say.

"My hair was your least favorite part about me," I reminded. "You'd always tell me to shave my head, remember? It wasn't that long ago, Luke."

I saw him pout before he hid his face into my shoulder. "I hate me."

"I hate you, too," I deadpanned. Then his eyes looked into mine, hurt evident.

"What?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly. I began to panic as Luke just kept staring at me.

"No, no I don't!" Then his face showed anger.

"I should punish you just for that." He looked around before his hand darted for my wrist. He then dragged me away to wherever the hell he was taking me.

"Wait, Luke!" I began to protest. "Calum and Ashton will wonder where we are!"

"Forget them for now, will ya?" He brought me in between an alleyway and pulled me close to his body. "Right now it's just you and me."

"One minute you're a little kid and the next you're a seductive, dominant boyfriend. Pick one, Luke."

"I choose to be Mikey's penguin." My eyes flickered to his lips as he began to lean in.

"Not a choice, but okay." Our lips met and he brushed his hand through my hair.

"Is it weird that I want to eat your hair?" he asked when we pulled apart, earning a chuckle from me. "Fluffy like cotton candy."

"You can't eat my hair," I said. "I like my hair."

"Okay. Well, I guess I'll have to eat something else."

"Is that a sexual innuendo I'm detecting?"

"... Possibly."

"You need help."

"I need you." He turned us around so that now I was being pressed against the wall. He kissed the side of my mouth before he began kissing down.

"We're in public," I told him. "Remember what happened earlier this morning?"

"This time nothing will interrupt us," he said in between his kisses. I looked out to where most of the people are, fearing that someone was going to see us. "Don't worry, Mikey, no one's watching."

"I... I wouldn't be too sure about that," I mumbled when I saw two girls staring our way before they quickly walked off. God, this is so embarrassing, but it feels so good. "Damn it, Luke..."

He brought his lips back up to mine and I kissed back, wrapping my arms around his neck. Kissing him cleared my head and I didn't care who was watching. Well, I was feeling that way.

His tongue brushed my bottom lip, but I kept my lips closed. He tugged at my hair, causing me to groan. Then he slipped his tongue into my mouth.

I could feel buzzing come his pocket. At first I thought it was a text, but then when it kept going off, I knew someone was calling him.

I broke the kiss, both of us panting hard as we tried to catch our breaths.

"You should... you should probably answer that," I told him.

Luke grunted, but pulled out his phone. He looked at the caller ID, hit the green button, and brought the phone up to his ear. "Yeah, Cal?" I tried to stay quiet to see if I could hear what Calum was saying. "Oh, Mikey and I just went to check out a shop, because we were bored of waiting for you guys... We, uh, ran?"

I chuckled, because I knew what Calum was asking. Or at least, I had an idea.

"Yeah, okay. Meet you back there." Luke then hung up the phone and he turned to me.

"They're wondering where we are?" I asked him, and he nodded. I returned the nod and was about to walk out when Luke grabbed my wrist and pulled me back to him.

He gave me a kiss to the temple, mumbling, "I love you, Mikey." Then he pulled away and walked ahead of me, leaving me speechless for a moment before I recovered from the surprise and followed behind him.

Calum and Ashton were outside of the shop, empty handed. Calum must've decided that he didn't want anything.

"After we explore some more we're going to McDonald's," Ashton said, "and then we'll go to the beach." Luke and I nodded.

"Onward, my trusty men!" Calum shouted, marching like an idiot, earning a lot of stares from people. Calum stopped in his tracks, twisted himself around and ran right at Ashton. He jumped onto his back, causing Ashton to shriek just a bit. "Move at the speed of light!"

"Fatass Calum strikes again," Ashton sighs before carrying him away. Calum would occasionally smack Ashton's bum, telling him to move faster, and Ashton would threaten to drop him of he kept going.

Luke and I were laughing at the two, because this was too entertaining to watch. Then I felt fingers lace with mine and I looked down, seeing Luke's hand holding onto mine.

"Just wanted everyone to know you're mine," he said, his eyes briefly glancing at me before he returned to looking ahead.

At first my fingers didn't respond to the gesture, but I soon returned it.

-

While exploring Ashton got a pair of sunglasses and Calum got a beanie. They were currently checking out at another store, and Luke and I just stood in front of the shop, talking and laughing with each other, which I never thought would ever happen in my lifetime.

"Are you serious?" I laughed when he told me about how he and Calum met. It's a really funny story, actually. I can't tell it the way Luke did, so I guess you'll just have to hear the story from him.

"Yeah, and ever since then we became best friends," Luke smiled. I never would've thought that's how they met.

Even when Calum and Ashton came out of the shop we were still laughing. They looked at us with a puzzled expression.

"What's so funny?" Calum asked.

"Nothing," Luke smiled innocently. I pressed my face into his shoulder, trying to prevent another laugh from coming out.

"I want to know as well." Calum began to pout and another laugh escaped from me. Luke wrapped his arm around me, pulling me closer to him. "Fine, whatever. I'll figure it out sooner or later."

"Will you tell me?" Ashton asked, hope in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'll tell you later," Luke answered, earning a huff from Calum.

"What?! Why am I being excluded?!" he complained. "I'm your best friend! Either you tell me or I steal Mikey from you!"

Luke let out a loud gasp. "You wouldn't dare!" Calum reached for my wrist an Luke smacked his hand away. "We were talking about a vine!"

"Yeah, like I'm going to believe that bullpoop. Whatever, I don't care." Calum flipped his imaginary hair and began strutting off. Ashton went after him and Luke and I followed behind.

"Nobody steals Mikey from me," I heard Luke huff, and I couldn't help but laugh. He's just too adorable. I gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and he looked taken aback from it.

"You're cute," I told him, chuckling. Then he broke into this smile and hugged me tightly.

"I love you."

We got to Calum and Ashton and they were sitting on a fence that surrounded a little bush.

"So now that you two are together," Calum started, "do you not want to be around us anymore?"

"What are you talking about?" Luke questioned. "We'll still hang around you guys."

"Oh, good, because I want some Lukey love, too!" He shut his eyes tightly and stretched his arms out at Luke, only to receive a shove backwards and into the bush.

"Idiot," Luke laughed. Ashton had to help Calum out of the bush, because he couldn't seem to pull himself out, and I was just laughing at how stuck Calum looked. "Let's go to the beach already."

-

After we returned to the hotel to get our beach stuff we finally got there. While Ashton and Calum ran for the waters I stayed sitting on a beach towel, watching as they splashed water at each other. We had brought snacks as well, and I was eating some goldfish crackers. 

Luke had left a few minutes ago. I don't know where he went, but I'm sure he's fine.

I saw Calum grab a handful of the wet sand and dump it right on Ashton's face. I gasped at first before I started laughing. Then Ashton shook off the sand, picked Calum up and threw him the farthest he could into the water.

"I'm blind!" I heard Calum shout when he emerged from the water. "I cannot see!"

Ashton began laughing at Calum's idiocy before he began to lead him towards me. When they approached me Calum waved his arms at me.

"Towel! Now before I become blind!" he exclaimed. I shook my head and handed him a box of oreos instead. "Okay, I may not be able to see, but I know this isn't a towel."

I threw it right at his face and he began wiping the salt water from his eyes.

"Ashton's a big fat meanie!" Calum shouted.

"You're a dork," Ashton laughed. The two took a seat down in front of me and Calum continued to rid his eyes of the seawater.

Suddenly Luke was back with a bunch of rocks and I raised an eyebrow. What in the world? He went off to get rocks?

This is the idiot that I like.

"What's with all the rocks?" Ashton asked when Luke got onto his knees and displayed the rocks in front of us.

"Which one looks nicer?" he asked.

"Why do you want a rock?" Calum asked.

Luke groaned, "Just pick." Calum thought for a moment before finally selecting one. It was small, a light shade of grey, and the surface looked really smooth.

Personally, I would've picked the same one as Calum did.

Wait, what am I talking about? They're rocks. They all look the same to me. I don't know why I even bothered to think of which one to choose.

Luke took the rock from Calum and handed it to me. I raised an eyebrow.

"You're giving me a rock, because...?" I began, because I honestly didn't know. It'll take me a long time to understand him. 

"It's a pebble," Luke said, frowning. "I'm giving you this pebble, because when a male penguin falls in love he searches the beach to find the perfect pebble for that special penguin. It's like a proposal, in a way. I found way too many that I thought were perfect, so I needed a second opinion. So..." He closed my fingers over the ro- pebble. The pebble. "... this is my pebble to you."

My cheeks turned red and I felt butterflies forming in my stomach. My heart was racing also. That's probably one of the cutest things Luke has ever done and said. I couldn't help the big smile form on my face. I probably was smiling like an idiot right now, but I didn't care. This is a really sweet gesture from Luke.

"Do you like it?" he asked, seeming a little bit shy. This is probably the first time I've ever seen him act shy, even just for a brief moment.

"I love it," I said, not removing my eyes from the small pebble. My fingers grazed over it, and it was indeed smooth.

I could see Luke scoot closer to me so that he was sitting right beside me. He wrapped one arm around my waist and pressed a kiss to my cheek.

"I love you, Mikey," he spoke softly.

"What the hell, Lukey!" Calum screamed, his hands placed on both sides of his face while he vigorously shook his head. "That's so cute! I'mma die from this cuteness!" He threw his arms into the air. "Ashton, catch me!" He began leaning towards Ashton, but at the last second Ashton scooted out of the way before Calum plopped face first into the sand.

"Oh, no! Calum has fainted!" Ashton exclaimed, feigning surprise and panic. "I must carry him into the water again where his eyes will burn from the salt!"

"Wait, what?!" Ashton picked Calum up and began carrying him off. "No! Put me down! Mikey! Lukey! Help! I'm being abducted!"

Instead Luke and I just laughed as we watched Ashton laugh and drop Calum into the water.

"Do you love me yet?" Luke asked, turning to me. I looked up into his blue eyes that were shining with hope.

"Maybe," I answered, but honestly it wouldn't be too long before I actually do.

Or maybe... I already do, but I want to know for certain before I say anything.


	19. Chapter 19

Calum begged Luke to grant him permission to bury him in the sand. At first Luke didn't want to, but after a lot of prodding and cheek-pulling he eventually gave in.

Ashton and I were just sitting on the towel, watching Calum began covering Luke's feet with sand. Ashton was eating most of the goldfish crackers, but I didn't care for any at the moment. I was too entertained by how eager Calum was to bury Luke.

"Calum is a strange one," I laughed.

"He kinda is, but I guess that's what makes him Calum," Ashton shrugged.

"You two are really close. I thought we were best friends." I pulled my knees up to my chest and began to feign a pout. Ashton scooted closer to me, draping his arm over my shoulder.

"We are best friends. It's just Calum planned this whole trip and I helped him plan it as well, so we kinda have to spend some time together to think of more ideas."

"I see..." I looked back at Luke and saw that he was wiggling under the sand, showing more of his body. Calum began to cover him up some more, but Luke would continue to do what he did before.

"The sun is in my eyes, Cal," I heard Luke say. "Can you shield them?" I saw Ashton stand up as he picked up his sunglasses that were on the beach towel. He walked over to Luke and slipped the shades on.

"Better?" he asked, earning a nod from Luke.

Five minutes later Calum had successfully buried Luke's entire body in sand. When two girls in bikinis walked by, Luke glanced up and nodded at them, saying, "'Sup?"

The girls giggled before continuing on their way.

"Your boyfriend's watching you, you know," Calum reminded. Honestly, I wasn't feeling that jealous. Besides, Luke gave me a pebble, not them.

"Mikey's not the jealous type," Ashton told him as if he read my mind. "It takes a lot to make Mikey jealous."

"Really?" Luke frowned. "Aw, then I won't see his protective side if I were to ever flirt with anyone."

"Luke, don't be a dick."

"I know, I know. Calum, can I please get out of here so I can go to my green bean?"

I laughed, "What? Green bean? That's your pet name for me?"

"It beats calling you puke hair."

I frowned and then turned away from him. "If that's meant to be funny, it's not."

Calum whacked Luke's head. "Idiot. You won't get the D that way. Stop get out of the sand and go make up with Mikey!" Luke scurried out of the sand, sitting beside me.

"Babe?" Luke mumbled softly.

"Don't call me that."

"Mikey?"

"No."

"... Green bean?" I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Luke then smiled and threw his arms around me. "Yay! You looked at me!"

I turned away from him. "Weirdo."

"Want to walk with me?" he asked, pressing closer to me some more.

"To where?" I asked back.

"Just along the shore. Only the two of us." He stood up and held his hand out to me.

"Oh! Yeah, go away, you two!" Calum exclaimed, earning a glare from me and Luke. "N-Not that I want to get rid of you, no. It's just I have to tell Ashton something."

"I thought we finished planning everything?" Ashton raised an eyebrow.

"This has nothing to do with the trip."

"... Oh."

"Well, in that case..." I took Luke's hand and he pulled me up. "Let's go take a semi-romantic walk along the beach."

"Semi?" Luke repeated. "We'll hold hands, talk a bit, share kisses, maybe we can go hide behind those big rocks and-"

"Stop right there." I placed the rock down on the beach towel and we started walking away from Ashton and Calum as they sat down together and scooted closer. Luke's hand held mine tightly as we got closer to the wet sand. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Anything that comes to mind," he answered.

"Okay, let's start with this: tell me when you started to like me."

"It's embarrassing though."

"Just tell me. I won't laugh." I can't keep that kind of promise, but I'll try my best not to.

"Let's see... It was a few weeks ago. It started when I had a dream when we were, um, doing some stuff. I woke up, sweating, at three in the morning. I thought it was a nightmare at first, because I always told myself that I hated you, but my friend in my pants said otherwise.

"The morning that followed after that dream I just kept thinking of that dream and how you looked under me. Well, I couldn't remember what you did look like, but then I started to wonder what you would look like. It didn't help that while I was thinking that you decided to come into view with Ashton. When I saw you I got butterflies in my stomach and it made my heart race.

"I ran the opposite direction of you and went straight for the boys' restroom. I locked myself in a stall and began to panic. I was mentally freaking out, because I was supposed to hate you, but you made my heart beat hard and fast, and I didn't like that. And the fact that you were a guy was another reason why I didn't like it. So I avoided you for a few days just so I could sort out my feelings."

I remember that time. It was the best four days of my life. Was. Not anymore.

"Every day during that time I would constantly think of you and the feelings I had. I was sure they would go away, but they never did. It's just everything you did just made me smile inside. Then I came to the conclusion that I had fallen for you. I didn't want to, but I couldn't help it. That night I literally cried myself to sleep, because I knew that you would never like me back. You hated me, and I told myself you would always hate me. I also didn't want you finding out about my feelings, so I had to keep up the act of hating you as well.

"I wish I just stopped right then, pretending to hate you when I really didn't. I hurt you, and I just wish I could take back every bad thing I ever said to you. I hate myself for everything."

I didn't realize we had stopped walking and I was now standing in front of him, our fingers still locked together. At this point Luke was starting to tear up a little bit. He wiped his tears away and chuckled weakly.

"I still, I still can't believe you're mine now. I still hate myself, though, and I don't think I even deserve you. You deserve so much better than me, and that's saying something, because I'm pretty self centered.

"I love you, Mikey. I really do, and I will do everything to prove it to you. It'll take me a lifetime to make up for every horrible remark I made towards you, and even until the day I die it wouldn't be enough, but I couldn't care less about that, because I'd do anything for you. I just need to know that you believe me and that my feelings for you are real. That is enough for me to keep going. I wouldn't know what I'd do if you didn't believe me."

I didn't know what to feel at this point. I just watched as Luke wiped his eyes from the tears that began to form in them.

He may have been a dick to me, but he was struggling about his feelings for me. He cried during that time, and I wouldn't have guessed then that he would cry, especially over me.

"I'm so sorry, Mikey, for everything," Luke choked out. "I really hate myself right now. I would do anything to go back and change everything."

I bit my bottom lip before I slipped my hand out of Luke's. I cupped his face with my hands and he looked at me with tear stained eyes.

"I believe you," I whispered to him. "And if you were to change everything, then we might never end up together. Also, I don't hate you."

"H-How could you not hate me after everything I did to you?"

"Because... How could I hate someone that I love?"

Luke sniffed. "What?" I saw that he was going to say more, but I cut him off by sealing my lips over his. My eyes were closed, so I couldn't see the reaction he had. He must've been surprised, because he didn't kiss back, but he soon started to do so. His arms snaked around my waist while mine were around his neck.

I broke the kiss and just stared into his blue eyes. "I think I can tell you now."

"T-Tell me?" he asked, confused a little, but I could tell that he was very hopeful about what I was going to say.

"I really like you," I breathed, almost inaudible.

"I wish you would tell me that-"

"I love you."

Luke's eyes widened as he stared into my eyes, surprised. "Really?"

"I've been, um, seeing you differently for a little bit, and I thought it was just a phase. I actually started arguing with myself about you."

"So... who won?"

I laughed before trying to pull myself away from him, but his arms still remained around me. "Which do you think?"

"I want you to answer it."

"Okay. The one that said that I did like you."

He smiled and I started to lean in to kiss him again when I heard a girl mutter, "Ew, faggots."

Luke and I turned to look at a girl with her friend walking past us. They rolled their eyes, scoffed, and continued walking.

"Don't be jealous that I can get a hot guy and you two skanks can't!" Luke shouted, snapping his fingers sassily. They both turned around and gaped at Luke, earning a loud laugh from me. I pushed my face into Luke's shoulder as I just kept laughing.

"Cock suckers!" shouted one of the girls.

"Unless you two are lesbians, so are you!" Luke retorted. I bursted out into more fits of laughter as I shook my head. I heard them muttering something insulting to us, but I was too busy laughing to even care.

"Oh, my God, Luke, you're great," I managed to say between my laughs as I looked at him. His eyes landed on me and he grinned, giving me a kiss to the cheek.

"I'm glad you think that way," Luke said, pressing his lips onto mine. "I love you, green bean."

"You need to come up with a new pet name."

"Um... I shall call you... No, I like green bean."

"Maybe you should just stick with calling me Mikey."

"I like green bean, but I guess Mikey works, too." I laughed when I heard Luke huff, and we just remained in each other's arms. "I thought it'd take me forever to get you to believe me."

"This is still unbelievable though."

"... Let me kiss you, just to prove that this isn't a dream."

I smiled. "Granted." Then our lips connected.

I swear, kissing Luke gives me the best feeling in the world. I never thought that I'd ever be in a position where I'd be the one kissing him, because of the start that we had. But here I am kissing Luke Hemmings, and never in a billion years did I ever think I'd ever have a chance to be friends with him, let alone be his.

Which reminds me...

"Luke, what are we now?" I asked, pulling away 

"Hm?" he hummed, slowly leaning in. "What do you want us to be?"

"I was hoping that we were, um, you know..."

"No, I don't." Luke was smirking at this point. He knows exactly what I'm talking about, but he's making me say it, anyway.

"Are we... together?" I mumbled the last bit.

Luke raised an eyebrow before chuckling, "We're physically hugging each other now, aren't we?"

"You know what I mean. Don't make me say it."

"But I want you to say it."

"Fine... Are we... dating, or...?"

Luke brought his lips close to my ear and began whispering seductively, "Only if you want to as much as I do. Would you, Michael Gordon Clifford, like to be my, Luke Robert Hemmings, boyfriend?"

I looked at him, cocking an eyebrow. "How the hell do you know my middle name?"

"Here I am, trying to be a romantic little shit and you go ruining it by making me sound like a creepy stalker. Ashton told me."

"Why?"

"I may or may not have asked about you when I was talking with him yesterday..." Luke grabbed one of my hands and brought it close to his lips. "Be my boyfriend," he murmured before pressing a kiss to my knuckles.

"Are you asking me or demanding me?" I chuckled.

"Will you be my boyfriend, Michael Clifford? This will be the last time I'll ask you." I just eyed him, not believing him about that last part one bit. "... Okay, no it won't, but please, will you be mine? And answer with either a 'yes' or scream like a girl and rain your kisses on me."

I let out a small laugh, looking down between us to only see our bodies pressed against one another. Luke's thumb and index grabbed hold of my chin and lifted my head up so I was back staring into his blue eyes.

"Yes," I answered. "Yes, I will be your boyfriend."

"I was hoping you'd squeal and kiss me all over my face, but yes is good, too," Luke said, shrugging. I whacked his chest before grabbing both sides of his face and kissing him right on the lips.

I pulled away to see his shocked expression. I smirked before I pulled my face close to his. "Is that better?" I kissed his cheek before I squirmed out of his arms and began walking ahead of him.

I took a quick glance back to see Luke blushing, his fingers brushing over his cheek where I had kissed him. Then a wide smile appeared on his face before he ran up to me, throwing his arms around from behind me.

"I love you, green bean!" Luke exclaimed, pressing a quick kiss to my neck.

"I love you, too," I replied back, "but don't call me green bean."


	20. Chapter 20

We pretty much spent the entire day at the beach and we were now back to exploring this one plaza. It was more like an outdoor swap meet, but there were a lot of cool stuff. Luke and I were holding hands while Calum and Ashton were ahead of us. Ashton just listened to Calum as he blabbered on and on about Frederick. I would've whacked him with a frying pan by now from one of the shops we passed by if I heard the shell's name one more time. Ashton looked pretty amused with Calum's energetic behavior.

"Green bean, look!" I heard Luke exclaim as he pulled me to one of the shops. He was staring at a penguin bobble head, a smile forming on his lips. He tapped the head and practically giggled when the penguin's head began to shake. "It's so cute!"

"If you buy one of those, you get another for free," said a lady as she walked over to us.

"How much are they?" I asked.

"One is about four dollars."

"For this small little guy?" Luke pouted as he kneeled down to get to the penguin's level, poking its head.

"It's the lowest I can make them if I plan on making the buy one get one free deal." I glanced at Luke and saw him staring at the penguin. His fingers were on the edge of the table and his chin was rested on top of them. I sighed, brushing the back of his head, earning a wide eyed look from him.

I turned my gaze to the lady and then said, "Four dollars, right?" I reached into my pocket to pull out my wallet, but then I felt a hand grip my wrist and I looked down.

"You don't have to," Luke mumbled. "I could get it myself."

"Well, you could repay me later," I told him, and then a mischievous grin crawled on Luke's face. I could feel my face grow red and I stuttered out, "W-With money, no-nothing else."

"Pick a bobble head," interjected the lady. I pulled my eyes from Luke and looked at the many choices.

"Get the green one!" Luke exclaimed, springing up and pointing at a green dog. I just shrugged and selected the one Luke said. I heard him whisper a small, "Yes!"

The lady picked up the two bobble heads and then placed them in a bag. I handed her four dollars and she gave me the bag. I thanked the lady and then we left. Luke had his arms thrown around me, chanting "Thank you" multiple times to me.

"Okay, you're drawing attention towards us," I laughed, patting his shoulder.

"I got a penguin bobble head from green bean!"

"You're such a little kid."

"Sometimes."

"Well, at first you were an annoying little kid, but now you're a dependent one. You should let go of me now."

"I don't want to."

"Where's Ash and Cal?"

"I don't know."

My eyes widened and I frantically reached into my pocket for my phone. I pulled it out and immediately began dialing Ashton's number. I tried bringing the phone up to my ear, but Luke's arms were blocking me from doing so.

"Luke, let me go for just a minute," I told him. He pouted, but obeyed. Then I heard him counting down from sixty.

After a few rings I finally heard Ashton pick up the other line.

"Where are you guys?" I asked in a panicked tone.

"Where are we?" he repeated. "Where are you?! We turn around and suddenly you two were gone!"

I glanced up at one of the shop signs. "We're at this one place called 'Nick Nack's Knick Knacks'."

"What the hell is that? We're at some asian restaurant. It's in some foreign language, so I can't read it. This is one of those times that I wish Calum was asian."

"I heard that!" Calum exclaimed. I laughed weakly, but it soon disappeared after I realized we were pretty much lost and separated.

Ashton chuckled before saying, "I'll see if I can step out and find another place to meet up."

"Okay, stay on the line," I told him.

"What?"

"I said stay on the line."

"Mikey, I can't... inter-... -lo?" Suddenly the line was cut off.

"Fuck," I cursed. I searched around for a place where there were less people.

"What happened?" Luke asked, coming close to me. I grabbed his shirt and began dragging him out of the crowd. "Where are we going?"

"Anywhere but here. We lost Ashton and Calum."

"We're lost?"

"Pretty much. They're at a restaurant and Ashton was going to step out to see if he could find us, but then the phone got cut off."

"We need to get to a place where there isn't any interference." I nodded and we began worming our way through the people. I muttered 'excuse me' to a lot of people while Luke was practically shoving anyone who was in his way.

We finally managed to get into a space where there wasn't anyone, but we had no idea where we were going, so we just got ourselves even more lost.

It didn't help that neither of us could get any signal on our phones.

"Crap, how are we going to get back to the others?" I questioned, but it was more directed to myself than to Luke. I was trying to think of another way to get back.

"There's nothing much we can do other than wait and see if the others will find us," Luke answered, shrugging. He sat down on a small brick wall while I paced back and forth, still attempting to come up with something. "Maybe we can head back to the hotel."

I said rather quickly, "We don't know where we are, much less how to get back. We're lost in a city we don't even know the name to, and we can't find Calum or Ashton and, a-and-" The next thing I knew Luke stood up, grabbing my face and kissing me.

It only lasted for about five seconds before he pulled away, making hushing sounds as he caressed my cheek.

"It's okay," he said. "As long as we stick together nothing bad will happen. You need to calm down, okay? We'll just wait here for a bit. Maybe Ashton or Calum will walk by and spot us, okay?" I managed to nod and Luke smiled. "Sit down and relax, okay?"

I was reluctant at first, but I did as he said. I sat down beside him and leaned my head on his shoulder. His arm was thrown over my shoulder, his elbow propped up so his fingers could card through my hair.

I was still a bit frantic at the fact that we may not find Calum or Ashton by the time the sun goes down. It was already five in the evening, but the sun was going to set in about an hour. I slid my arms around Luke and he pecked my head with his lips.

People passed us and the air was getting colder as the minutes went by. I was taking in deep breaths, trying to keep myself as composed as possible.

"We won't be lost forever, you know," Luke chuckled, but it wasn't really helping me. "Let me check if I can get any signal, okay?"

"Mkay," I mumbled. Luke pulled his phone from his pocket and pressed the power button. When he sighed, I knew he wasn't getting any reception. That means I wouldn't be getting any either. "Should we walk around or just wait a bit longer?"

"I don't know, green bean. Maybe we should wait. Ashton and Calum are bound to walk this way eventually. Yeah, let's wait here."

Neither of us said anything. The only noises heard were from the people passing by and some horns from cars. After a few minutes of just waiting around Luke had moved me onto his lap. I was worried that I might be too heavy for him, but he waved it off and said that it was okay.

We were getting weird stares from passersby and I tried to worm my way off of Luke, but his arms were wrapped around my waist, preventing me from moving off of him.

"Luke, people are watching us," I whispered.

"Okay," he simply stated. "Let them watch. It's not like this is hurting anyone." I saw a boy around thirteen years old staring at us. He literally stopped in his tracks and whacked his friend's arm beside him just so he could have him look at us.

"Luke, there are these two guys staring at us." Luke turned to look at them.

"I bet you a hundred dollars you two will end up together!" he shouted at them. Their eyes went wide and they glanced at each other before pretending to throw up and then ran off.

"What the fuck was that?!" I exclaimed, jumping out of his lap before he could react.

"Green bean, please don't be mad," Luke sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"That was so embarrassing, you calling them out like that." I turned away from Luke, pinching the bridge of my nose. I gasped when I felt arms slip around my waist. Luke rested his chin on my shoulder, his head tilted so it was leaning against mine.

"I'm sorry, green bean. Forgive me?"

"Why do you call me green bean?"

"I thought it was cute. Is there another pet name that you think is better suited for you?" I thought for a moment, and I was drawing to a blank.

"No," I sighed in defeat. A small puff of air escaped from Luke.

"I didn't think so either. How about spinach or asparagus? Maybe my lettuce or cabbage?"

"Now, you're just naming a bunch of green vegetables."

"Green bean is the best, and you're my green bean." My eyes wandered out to the people and no one had their eyes on us, which I was slightly thankful for that. I didn't want to grab anymore attention than I did already. "You apparently don't like all eyes on you, huh?"

"Not really," I admitted.

"Well, with your fluffy, green hair you'll be drawing a lot of attention from people." Luke removed one hand from around me and began playing with the ends of my hair.

"Do you want me to dye my hair to a color that won't make me stand out so much?"

"If you do that, then I won't be able to call you my green bean, and I like that nickname. Keep your green hair."

"I don't know... I might change it soon."

"Please, don't, green bean." His fingers held onto my chin and pulled it to the side. His lips then latched onto my neck, causing me to emit a quiet moan.

"You already left a mark," I reminded him.

"Well, I'm leaving more," he mumbled into my neck.

"Ashton saw the first one."

"Maybe he'll notice more of them."

"Seriously, now's a bad time. Continue this tonight." Luke's lips left my neck and he stared at me with an unreadable expression.

"Tonight?" he repeated. "You want to continue this tonight?"

Realizing what I had just said, I tried to come up with something else to say. "W-Wait, that's n-not what I meant."

Luke then began to smirk. "So, you want the hemmonster?"

"Th-The what?"

"You'll get it later, then." I blushed when he winked and smirked at me.

"I-I wasn't implying that-"

"There you two are!" Our heads turned and we saw Ashton smiling at us as he walked over. "Took a while, but finally I found you two! Calum's all alone in the restaurant. We better go back before he starts freaking out and seeking comfort from random people." I wormed my way out of Luke's arms and went up to Ashton who was eyeing me. "Are you okay? Your face is red. Coming down with a fever?"

"N-No," I told him, "it's just hot."

"But it's seventeen-"

"Let's go." I grabbed his arm and began pulling him away, Luke following right behind us and humming to himself. "Where are we going?"

"Uh, just keep going down and then make a left at the first intersection," Ashton answered. "You sure you're okay?"

"He'll be better later," Luke spoke up, earning a glare from me. Without another word we just continued our way to the restaurant, Ashton hoping that Calum didn't get too lonely, Luke annoyingly humming some random tune, and me mentally smacking myself in the forehead for telling what I told Luke.

What have I gotten myself into?


	21. Chapter 21

Calum didn't go crazy, thank God for that, but when we walked through the door the first thing he did was spring out of his seat and hug the life out of Ashton. Then the four of us went to sit down at the booth that Calum came from.

Luke and I sat with each other on one side while Calum and Ashton sat on the other side. There was food already displayed on the table, so whatever was there we ate it. Nothing interesting happened, other than casual talk and occasional displays of affection from Luke to me.

"So, who are going to move rooms?" Ashton asked.

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, tonight I"m rooming with you and Luke's rooming with Calum. So, is it you and Calum or me and Luke who will move rooms?"

... Oh, that's right. Calum's stupid buddy arrangement. I guess we're still going with that, huh?

I glanced over at Luke and he was just simply drinking his water, ignoring us all. Then I looked at Calum and he was looking down at his lap.

"Actually, Ash," he began to say, "is it okay if we forget about the buddy arrangement?"

"Huh?" Ashton had a confused look his face. "You were the one who thought it up."

"Yeah, but it was just so everyone could become friends, and I think it's safe to say that we are all friends now. I mean, Luke and Mikey don't hate each other anymore, and that's good."

"So... who are going to room together?"

"How about... you and I room and Luke and Mikey room together until we get home?"

Ashton's eyes widened a bit and he leaned away from Calum a bit. His eyes landed on me and he opened his mouth to speak. "A-Are you okay with this new arrangement, Mikey?"

"I don't care who I room with, honestly," I answered. "As long as I get a bed to sleep in."

Ashton picked up his cup of water and said to Luke before drinking it, "What about you, Luke?"

"I prefer this arrangement," Luke spoke up, setting his water down. "I get to sleep with green bean for more nights."

"He means the same room," I told Ashton.

Luke smirked before he chuckled, "Yeah, I meant that, too." Ashton's head abruptly leaned forward and water was literally dripping from his mouth. Calum pointed at him and laughed while Luke was pressed against the backrest of his seat, smirking at Ashton's reaction. I rested my elbow on the table and covered my eyes with my hand, shaking my head.

What the hell is wrong with Luke?

-

"See you two in the morning!" Calum chirped.

"Night, you two," Ashton yawned.

"Good night," I said.

"Bye," Luke murmured. Then the four of us went to the rooms we were going to sleep in tonight.

So, guess who I'm rooming with tonight?

Yep.

Ashton.

We decided to stick with the buddy arrangement, and I was quite relieved with that, because if I had to room with Luke tonight, then I don't know what would happen in one of our beds.

Ashton and Luke switched rooms, so they had to gather their belongings and bring them to the room they were going to stay in tonight.

Ashton and I went into our room and he tossed his things on his bed.

"You don't mind if I take over the bathroom first, do you?" Ashton asked as I made my way over to my bed, picking up my bag and setting it on the edge. "It'll be for a while."

"Go ahead," I told him, waving my hand at him. He nodded, emptied out his pockets, dug through his bag for a toothbrush and toothpaste, and then went to the restroom.

I pulled the pebble Luke gave to me out of my pocket and just stared at it. Such a simple gift, yet it had a huge effect on me. I smiled at the memory of when Luke explained why he gave it to me. I placed it in one of the small pockets of my bag, zipping it up to make sure it wouldn't fall out, and then I glanced out the balcony window.

Since the curtains were pulled back I could see the buildings and the lights. I decided to step out onto the balcony to admire the view again.

Before I could step out I heard a knock at the door and I decided to see who it was, arriving at such an hour as... whatever time it is, but it was dark out, so it's late.

I opened the door and I was suddenly pulled into arms that encircled my entire body.

"Green bean!" Luke exclaimed, hugging me tightly.

"Luke?" I laughed a bit. "Why are you here?"

"I missed my green bean and I wanted to come visit you." His hands then went up to my face and he pulled me into a kiss that I gladly returned. It was a quick one before I broke it, because I wanted to watch the city lights, and now that Luke was here it was going to be better. I grabbed his hand. and began leading him towards the balcony. "Where are we going?"

"To watch the city. Let's watch it together."

I saw Luke smile before I felt his hand squeeze mine. "Okay."

Once we stepped onto the balcony the cold air hit me and I shivered.

"Where's your jacket, green bean?" Luke asked.

"I never brought one," I answered, looking down at the ground. "I didn't think I needed one."

"Well, then..." He pulled his hand from mine and wrapped his arms around me, sending butterflies to flutter in my stomach. "I'll be your jacket replacement."

"I'm still feeling a bit cold."

"Sorry, green bean. This is the best I can do." He rested his chin on my shoulder and I placed my hand over one of his. We looked out into the city lights, standing there in comfortable silence. It wasn't until I felt Luke press a gentle kiss to my neck did my attention turn to him. "Even though I came here to see you, I was sort of hoping we could do something a bit more."

I gazed into his blue eyes that looked into my green ones. "More?" I repeated. "More than what?"

"Something more than just staring out into the city." His eyes glanced down at my lips before capturing them with his. He twisted me around so that our chests were pressed against one another. He kept his arms around my waist while my hands were planted on his shoulders. The kiss was causing my heart to pound really hard, and no matter how hard I tried to calm it down nothing would work.

The next thing I knew Luke pushed me up against the wall that was right next to the sliding door. Without breaking the kiss he stepped in between my legs and pulled me up so that his hips held me up. He slowly began grinding me, causing sweet friction to form between us.

"Oh, my God..." I breathed when we parted the kiss to take a breath or two. Luke must've been hungry for more, because then we were back to making out again. He was still rubbing his hard-on against mine, and it felt so good.

One of Luke's hands went from my waist to my bum while the other slipped under my shirt, roaming my chest. I cringed, because his hand was freezing and it didn't help that I was already cold.

"I want to feel more of you," Luke growled, his lips brushing against mine. "I want to dispose every piece of clothing on you and throw it off this balcony." I didn't have time to respond before he shoved his tongue into my mouth. A quiet groan escaped me, despite me wanting to hold it in.

The tightness in my jeans wasn't helping the erection that I had and I whimpered slightly, causing Luke to chuckle.

"Want me to help you with that?" he asked, obviously amused by the reaction he got out of me. I nodded without thinking and he quickly moved his hand to the button of my jeans, fumbling to get it to open. He brought his face close to my neck, which made me tilt my head so he had more access to it, and he attached his mouth onto my neck. While his fingers worked to unbutton my jeans, he sucked on my sweet spot, and it only made me harder.

"Mikey?" I heard a voice say. Luke and I both froze, knowing that Ashton had finally left the bathroom, but then Luke quickly went back to what he was doing before. "Are you out there on the balcony?" I didn't see him, so it must've meant he was still in the room. I was a bit grateful that Luke and I were hidden from sight if you were to look out onto the balcony from the room.

"Y-Yeah," I began, trying my best to hold in a moan as Luke bit my neck slightly. "I was just admiring the city lights again."

"Oh, okay. I'm going over to Cal's room, so if you need me I'll be there." Luke thrusted his hips against me, causing me to nearly let out a small cry that demanded to be heard.

"Okay." That ended up sounding like a whine, but Ashton didn't seem to pay any mind to that, because the next thing I heard were his footsteps and then the sound of the room door closing.

"Now, we're alone together," Luke whispered against my neck before he pulled his face away so he could look at mine. My heart was still racing and I was breathing heavily and more loudly, now that I didn't have to worry about Ashton hearing me. I looked down in between us and noticed that he had gotten my button to pop open and the zipper was only halfway down.

Luke wrapped an arm around my back while one was beneath me. Mine went around his neck and I pulled myself closer to him so that my chin was hooked onto his shoulder. My legs were around his body and my ankles crossed over one another. Luke then carried me inside the room where the warmth surrounded the both of us. In a state like this, with the both of us sweating, being outside on the balcony was better.

I felt Luke sit on the edge of my bed and then I pulled myself away.

"Stand up, green bean," Luke said, and I did as he told. He placed his hands on my hips and he tugged at my jeans down a bit. When they only moved a little bit he hooked his thumbs into the loops of my jeans and slid them down, leaving me to stand in my shirt and shorts.

Once my pants were around my knees I was about to bend down to remove them entirely, but Luke stopped me.

"Let me," was all he said before he leaned forward to pull my jeans down. I kicked them aside and Luke placed his hands on my bum to bring me closer. I climbed on top of Luke so I was straddling his lap, and then we were lost in another heated kiss. I felt his hand go in between me and Luke and then grab my covered hard-on. A moan left me and Luke took that opportunity to push his tongue into my mouth so that it roamed all around.

He palmed me through my shorts and it was already making me want to go over the edge.

"Luke," I whined as he pushed me down onto my bed and climbed on top of me, his hand still giving me a few pumps. "M-My shorts..."

He didn't answer me. Instead he pecked my lips and began trailing kisses from there to my neck. The hand that wasn't squeezing me slipped my shirt off so it revealed my upper body. Luke began kissing my chest and went downward. Once he reached the hem of my shorts, he just let his lips linger over the waistband. I could feel his hot breath hit my skin as he just remained there.

Luke's hand then left my hard-on and he pushed my legs farther apart so he could bring his face to my right, inner thigh. He left kisses close to the knee before he began moving closer to my shorts. Then he repeated the same action to the left side.

I began to whimper more, "Luke, I can't-"

"Hold on, green bean," he interrupted, his hands pushing against my thighs to prevent them from coming together. "Just keep holding it in. I'm trying my best to hold it in, too. You're doing well." I could feel his lips press against my covered erection, and I had to inhale deeply to prevent myself from moaning loudly. "Wow, you're really wet."

"Don't say stuff like that. That's embarrassing."

"I'm just telling the truth." Luke brought his hand up to the waistband of my shorts and pulled them down to my knees, causing my erection to spring free. I brought my hands up to my face, placing my palms over my eyes. I didn't want to watch this. Not at all.

I was honestly expecting to feel Luke's lips wrap around me, but instead he brought himself back up to my face, his legs replacing his arms to hold my legs in place. I removed my hands from my face and laid them on either side of me while Luke slid off both his jeans and shorts and kicked them off onto the ground, and then pressed his body against mine, our erections touching. He wrapped his long fingers around both of our hard-ons and began making rubbing motions.

"This is probably the most I'll do," Luke spoke softly. "We won't go any farther than this, until you're ready." As much as I wanted to reply to him, to tell him that I understand, I ended up moaning, because the friction was too much for me. "Come with me."

His pace of his hand quickened and I shut my eyes tightly, biting on my bottom lip rather hard.

"Shit," I cursed, my hands grabbing a fistful of the sheets beneath us. Luke pushed his mouth onto mine and kissed me hard. His free hand took one of mine and intertwined our fingers. Then Luke's other hand did this unbearable squeeze that made me unable to hold back.

I threw my head back against the bed, arching my back and moaning out Luke's name too loud for my liking. Then I felt myself climax all over the both of us, Luke following shortly after as he moaned my name as well.

It was an amazing feeling after the both of us came down from our high. I dropped myself back onto the bed so I was in a relaxed position while Luke rolled onto his back beside me and was panting hard. Even my heart was beating abnormally fast.

I lifted myself up and saw that there was my and Luke's come all over my stomach. If I didn't like him, then this would've been disgusting. Well, if I didn't like him none of this would've happened.

I pulled off my shorts from my ankles and used them to wipe off what was on my stomach. Luke sat upright and threw his shirt onto the ground, since there was our come all over it.

"I... I think you sh...should return to your room," I panted. Luke shook his hand and wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm too tired to do so," he whined, burying his face into my neck. I brought my arms around him as well and pulled him close to me, his hair tickling my nose. Our legs tangled together and Luke gave my neck a small kiss. "I love you, my green bean."

"Your green bean," I said back, nodding a bit. "I'm only your green bean."


	22. Chapter 22

"What was that for?!" Luke yelled as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I-I freaked out!" I exclaimed, pulling the sheets over me.

What just happened was I woke up with Luke's arms around me. Then I realized it was morning and Ashton could've seen us, so the first thing I did was kick Luke off of the bed.

My eyes looked over at Ashton's bed, but it was empty. Did he wake up early and go to Calum's room or did he stay the night there...?

Luke pretended to struggle to get onto the bed before he plopped himself onto it, lying on his stomach.

"I'm sorry for pushing you off the bed," I mumbled, searching around for my bag. I crawled to the end of the bed and saw that it had fallen on the floor. I picked it up and placed the bag onto the bed, zipping it open and pulling out a clean pair of shorts and a shirt.

When I didn't hear Luke respond I turned to look at him, and I saw that he had already fallen back asleep. How can he go back to sleep so quickly after I pretty much just kicked him out of the bed?

I threw my legs over the edge and stood up, making my way over to the bathroom. I walked inside the bathroom and placed my shorts and shirt on the counter. Then I stepped into the shower to clean myself up.

Once I had finished I put on the shorts and shirt and stepped back into the room, only to see Luke still sound asleep and in the same position as he had been before I took a shower.

I sighed, shaking my head. That boy, I swear to God...

I slowly approached him and sat on the edge of the bed, watching as his body rose and fell with every breath he took. My fingers carded through his hair and he purred a bit.

"Hey, Luke," I cooed, "I think you should get up now."

"Mmm..." he grumbled, not even moving. I grabbed a random pair of jeans on the floor and slipped them on, but they felt a bit long on me.

That was when I realized I just put on Luke's pants.

But I already got them on, and I didn't want to take the time to change into my own pair of jeans, so... I'll just wear them for today.

I felt something in his pockets and I pulled it out, revealing the key to the other room. Maybe I'll go check on Ashton and Calum, see what they were doing that made Ashton not return.

I glanced at Luke's sleeping form before I began searching around for my phone.

"I'll be out for a bit," I said, not expecting a reply from Luke. Once I had located it in my jeans from yesterday I stuffed them into the pocket of Luke's pants and then I made my way to the door. I took one last look at Luke as I slipped on my shoes and opened the door, whispering an inaudible, "I love you."

I left the room, closing the door and making sure it was locked. I'm sure Ashton has the key to our room, so I wasn't too worried about leaving my key behind.

Once I got to the other room I inserted the key into the door and slowly opened the door.

When I stepped into the room I was surprised at what I saw, or rather what I didn't see.

Ashton and Calum weren't here.

I walked deeper into the room, but there was still no sign of them anywhere. No one was in the restroom, because the door was wide open.

"Maybe they're on the balcony," I muttered to myself. I approached the balcony door, but I couldn't see them there either. I slid the glass door open and saw that it was empty.

Where could the two have gone?

I shook my head and was about to leave to go back to the other room, but then I remembered that I had left the key to my room inside and Luke was completely knocked out. I don't think he'd wake up from me banging my fist against the door.

I didn't want to stay in the room either, so I guess I'll just take a stroll. Just a stroll, though. I can't go out and buy anything, because my wallet was left in the room Luke's in. I also didn't want to search through Luke's or Calum's bags to search for money.

Yep, I'm going to take a walk.

I made sure Luke's room key was inside the pocket of his jeans and I left the room, going towards the elevator to take me to the ground level.

I'm not sure where Ashton or Calum went, but I think they'll be fine. Maybe I can call them.

Once I had left the building the cold air hit me and I shivered a bit. I got my phone out and pressed the home button, but my phone didn't turn on. I cocked an eyebrow, thinking maybe the command didn't go through. After trying many times, I came to the conclusion that my phone had died.

Well, isn't this lovely? I've no idea how to reach Ashton and Calum now.

I groaned and pushed the phone back into the back pocket and stuffed my thumbs into the front pockets.

My eyes were glued to the ground, never looking up to see who and what were around me. I just followed the sidewalk to wherever it was leading, but I ended up bumping into someone. I looked up at the person and saw that he had black hair that swept to the side, a lip ring, and was slightly taller than I am. I apologized to him before I continued on my little walk.

I turned at a bunch of corners, but then after going around one of them things were starting to smell and get darker. I stopped in my tracks and looked up.

I've managed to bring myself to an alley with a bunch of dumpsters.

"Isn't that nice," I said, sarcasm in my tone. I turned on my heels, but stopped before I could collide into a body.

"Excuse me," I quickly muttered as I stepped around the person, not even bothering to look up at him.

"Sorry," he said, "you look a bit lost." I paused, slowly turning to look at the person.

It was the same guy I ran into not too long ago.

I examined his outfit and noticed he was wearing a black leather jacket along with black skinnies and black Vans on his feet.

"Oh, no, I was just taking a stroll," I replied, rubbing my arms that were starting to form goosebumps.

"At seven in the morning?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Is something wrong with that?"

"No, no. Pardon me for being nosy. You best be on your way back to whatever hotel you're staying."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "How do you know I'm staying at a hotel?"

"It's just a guess. Are you?"

"Well, yeah, but what made you think I was?" The guy leaned against the wall, staring at nothing in particular.

"Never seen you around, you know?" he answered. "This part of the city isn't safe. You should leave here while you can. Go back to the comfort of your hotel."

"Okay," I nodded, stepping out of the alley. I looked from left to right, trying to remember where I walked from.

I heard chuckling behind me before the guy asked, "Lost?"

"Maybe," I said, a bit embarrassed. I felt an arm wrap around me as the guy began pulling me in the left direction.

"I believe you came from this way."

The walk was silent, no words exchanged between either of us. It wasn't even close to comfortable. It was a very awkward silence, and for every second that past I wished more that one of us would speak up, preferably him, because I can't think of anything to talk about.

"What's your name, chip?" Chip? What kind of a nickname is that? I think I prefer green bean, as weird as that sounds.

"M-Michael," I mumbled, not making any eye contact with this stranger.

"Cool name. I'm Tristan, but I go by Tricky."

"Why that?" I couldn't help, but ask.

He snorted, "Because, chip, I'm pretty good at deceiving people."

"Oh." I felt a shiver go up my back, because I honestly didn't have a good feeling about this Tristan- or Tricky- guy.

"You cold?" he asked. I didn't have time to respond before he slipped off his jacket and placed it on my shoulders. His arms were littered wih tattoos of skulls and roses and he had a bunch of wrist bands on his left arm. There was a gauze around his right wrist, but I decided not to ask about what happened there.

I didn't want to say this out loud, but I did feel warmer now.

After another minute of silence Tricky spoke up, "This may sound really strange, but when you bumped into me earlier I couldn't help but follow after you."

"You're right, that does sound really strange," I laughed. "And creepy."

"Look, it's because, you walked into the bad part of the city. I'm simply leading you back to the good side. I was just looking out for you."

"That's... nice... looking out for a stranger."

"I think we're near the border between the good and bad sides. Once we walk a few more yards we'll be perfectly fi-"

"Tricky!"

"Well, fuck."

Tricky twisted around, making me turn with him. There were three guys, two big ones and a small midget, approaching us.

The midget shouted, "Finally I've got you where I want you. You will pay for what happened last time!"

"Well, if it isn't Walter," Tricky smirked, not the least bit intimidated. But then again, he's being called out by a midget who's got two big guys standing on either side of him.

"You call me Big Boss!"

"Not so big for a small fry." Tricky ruffled the midget's hair, earning a slap to the hand. The guy, apparently named Walter, grabbed Tricky's shirt and pulled him down to his level.

"Listen, you asshole, it's been over two weeks since our last encounter, and I'm not letting you off easy this time."

Tricky pulled the midget's hand off of him and straightened himself, smoothing his shirt out. "I can't deal with you today, Wally. I need to take care of my cousin who's just coming back from his psychiatric appointment." Tricky gestured over to me, making all eyes look my way.

What in the world is Tricky doing now?

"Your cousin?" Walter repeated.

"I-I, uh..." I stuttered, not knowing what to say, but then Tricky patted my face, cutting me off.

"Aw, poor Edmund can hardly speak," Tricky cooed. I raised an eyebrow. Edmund? "Don't make him talk, Wally. He might just pass out. Now..." Tricky turned us around so we were facing away from the three guys. "... let's take you back home, yeah? Your family are probably worried about you, Edmund."

"Mikey?" My eyes gazed over to Calum and Ashton who were just across the street, holding a bunch of bags filled with what appears to be food.

Calum waved over at me, a huge smile on his face. "Mikey! Hi!" he yelled, continuing to wave his hand.

"Who's Mikey?" I heard Walter ask. "I thought you were Edmund?" Tricky chuckled nervously before leaning his face close to my ears.

"You better run," he whispered. "Run with your friends back to your hotel, and, under any circumstances, do not look back." I gulped, but nodded. Tricky smiled before adding, "That's a good chip." His arm that was around me was suddenly swung at the midget, causing the small guy to stumble and fall onto his back.

I just stared at shock. Tricky just punched Walter.

It took me a second to finally start running across the street to Calum and Ashton.

"The kid's innocent!" I heard Tricky exclaim. "I'm the one you want! Come at me, you fuckin' pussies!"

As I approached my friends Ashton began, "What are you doing ou- okay," but he was cut off when I grabbed his and Calum's wrists and began running off. When the two finally got the idea to run I released their wrists.

Once the three of us ran off for a good minute we believed we were safe. We stopped running to catch our breaths.

"What was," Calum huffed before pausing to take more breaths, "what was that about?"

"Just forget about it," I told him, shaking my head. I leaned forward and rested my hands on my knees, inhaling deeply.

"Why are you out?" Ashton asked once his breathing evened out. "I thought you'd still be asleep?"

I held up a finger, telling Ashton to hold on a moment before I could answer. I let out a cough and then straightened myself up. "I was taking a stroll, but before I was wondering where you went. Did you even go back to our room last night?"

"I-" He cut himself off and closed his open mouth, probably to think of something else to say. "Luke didn't go back to his room either."

"But why didn't you go back?"

"You and Luke could've been doing something if I walked in, and I didn't want to catch any of that action. So Calum suggested that I wait for Luke to return before I head back to our room. I ended up falling asleep in their room instead."

"You know what?" Calum started as he looked at me. "I'll just room with Ashton and you can room with Luke. It seems better that way, anyway."

"Yeah, let's do that. The hotel should be this way." Ashton walked ahead and Calum followed. Then I began walking behind the two.

Calum turned around and looked at me with worried eyes. He stopped walking just so I would catch up to him. He draped his arm over my shoulder.

"Does Luke know you're gone?" he questioned.

"I don't think so," I answered, unsure.

"Well, then he's probably freaking about your disappearance as we speak. Oh, and Ash and I got breakfast." He held up the bag, laughing a bit.

I weakly laughed, but I wasn't exactly in the mood to be happy.

Even though I didn't know him that long, I'm a bit worried about Tricky. I hope he's okay.

I should've thanked him for keeping me out of his business, but I should forget about him, too. I don't think I'll ever see him again.

A few minutes later we got to the hotel and went up to our floor. Thankfully, Ashton had the key to our room, so he opened the door up for me.

When the three of us walked in I saw Luke pacing back and forth around the room, muttering something unintelligible. Ashton closed the door behind us and Luke's head snapped in our direction.

"Green bean!" he exclaimed, running over to me and cupping my face with his hands. Then he began bombarding me with questions. "Where've you been? Do you know how worried I was? Are you okay? Why didn't you answer your phone? How come you didn't- wait. Whose jacket is that and why are you wearing it?"


	23. Chapter 23

Luke was wearing his shorts, a shirt of mine, and a very angry facial expression.

I looked down at the jacket and then back up at Luke. His expression went from worried to pissed within a blink of an eye, and that scared me.

"Okay, I can explain the jacket," I started, trying to sound as calm as possible, but with Luke's blue eyes glaring into my green ones it was hard for me to not be terrified.

"Please do," Luke hissed, crossing his arms over his chest. I could hear Ashton and Calum shuffling out of the room and the door close, and all I could think of was how I'm going to tell Luke what happened without making him mad.

"I was out and I ran into this guy. It was freezing out, so he handed me his jacket."

"And you didn't refuse, apparently."

"Look, it was just a friendly gesture. He was keeping me warm."

"So he handed you a leather jacket that costs God knows how much? It seems too friendly to me."

"I'd give it back, but I don't think I'll ever see him again. Besides, he told me to run, because he was dealing with something."

Luke turned away from me and took a few steps before stopping and saying something more.

"Throw it away," he spat.

"The jacket?" I asked, slipping it off my shoulders.

"No, your bag filled with all your things. Yes, the jacket! Go out on the balcony and throw it off."

"What?! You expect me to do that?!"

Luke glanced back at me and shrugged. "I don't see why not."

"Luke, this is a jacket." I held the jacket out for emphasis. "A leather jacket. And you're telling me to throw it off the balcony?"

"It's not my jacket, so I don't give a fuck about it."

"Listen to yourself. You're being childish. How about I bring it down to the lobby and just leave the jacket on the couch? Does that make you feel better?"

"What's wrong with throwing it off the balcony?"

"Why are you acting like this?" I was just getting more and more frustrated with Luke every time he was being unreasonably immature. "It's just a jacket!"

"How would you like it, if I wore someone else's jacket? Wouldn't that infuriate you?" His blue eyes were dark and burning into me as he furrowed his eyebrows.

"I'm telling you, this jacket means nothing to me! It was only a friendly act! Why do you have to be so upset about that?!"

"Because it's not my jacket that you're wearing!" Luke shouted, taking me aback. "What, you'd just casually accept anyone's jacket now? If a jacket was handed to you, you'd slip it on right away?"

I was quiet for a moment, searching for the words to say, something that'd get Luke to understand that Tricky's jacket was to only keep me warm.

Once I thought of what to say I opened my mouth to speak.

"Luke," I spoke softly, because it wasn't going to be very helpful to shout back at him. I began approaching him slowly, his eyes glancing at his feet. "It was cold outside. Would you rather have me freeze to death?"

He remained silent for a moment, staring down at the ground. I was now only a foot away from him, and I could see the anger leaving his face.

"No," he murmured.

"Then why are you so upset that someone lent his jacket to me?"

"It's just that..."

"Just...?"

"... you're my green bean."

I dropped the jacket onto the ground and cupped Luke's face, so that I could make him look me in the eyes.

"And I'm still your green bean," I whispered. "No one else's green bean." I felt Luke's arms slowly make their way around my waist and he pulled me closer to him so our bodies were pressed against one another.

One of my hands went to the back of Luke's neck and pulled him so his lips met mine. He went forward a bit, causing me to lean back. When Luke pulled away, breaking the kiss, he looked behind me and frowned.

"What is it?" I asked, turning around to see what Luke was looking at.

"The jacket," he muttered, "it's still here." He walked over to the jacket and kicked it. He kept kicking it until he got to the door. He opened the door and pushed the jacket out of the room. He shut the door, still glaring. "I didn't like that."

I smiled when I heard him huff and I approached him, twisting him around so he'd face me. I couldn't help the laugh that left me when I saw that he was pouting.

"This isn't anything to make a face about," I chuckled. Luke gazed into my eyes, still frowning. I grabbed his face and stretched his cheeks out.

"Owie," he muttered, scrunching his face. I pecked his lips with my own and walked over to my bag that was still on my bed.

"So, what time is it?" I asked, zipping open the bag and searching through it. I wasn't looking for anything, though. I just needed something to do.

"I don't know, like, eight?" Luke answered, shrugging and sitting on the other bed. "Can you come over here?"

"No, thanks." While idly digging through my bag I found my phone charger and pulled that out. I zipped up my bag, walked over to an outlet that was nearby my bed, and plugged the charger in. I don't know when we leave, but I should get some more power into my dead phone.

"Your phone died?" I heard Luke ask. I glanced over at him and his eyes were on my phone that just had its screen light up, showing me that it's currently charging.

"Yeah, it died," I confirmed. "I forgot to charge it last night."

"So, that's why you didn't answer my call?"

"... Well, obviously. I can't answer calls, if my phone died, right?" I suddenly felt arms around me from behind and I gasped, taken by surprise. A small sniff was heard before Luke began to speak.

"You know what I don't like about you now?" Luke sounded a bit irritated.

I gulped, "Wh-What?"

"The fact that someone else's smell rubbed off on you pisses me off. This guy, was he all over you?"

"Luke, no. He was not."

"You're pretty calm about this."

"Listen, all he did was help me when I got lost, okay? We ran into some trouble, but he got me out of it."

"It doesn't changed the fact that he touched you."

I spun myself around, so I was looking at Luke. "Not in that way!"

He smirked, his teeth showing, "That better be it." One arm pulled away from my waist and his fingers were firmly gripping my chin. "Because I'd hate if someone touched anyone or anything that belonged to me."

"That's why I knee'd your dick the other day when you took my phone."

"Yes, you do need my dick."

"You know what I meant, Lucas."

"Okay, you know what?" Luke pulled away, looking all serious, and I tried to hold in a smile that wanted to form on my face. "When you did that it really hurt like hell, Michael. I'm not in pain anymore, but it was painful. You're lucky my dick didn't break."

I began laughing, "And why's that lucky for me?"

"Because then I wouldn't be able to use it on you."

My laughing began to die down and I just stared at Luke. "What?" A smirk went on his face and he pulled me towards him.

It took me a moment to register that he had pushed his lips onto mine, catching me by surprise.

He began pushing me back until my legs hit the side of the bed, causing the kiss to break and me to fall on the mattress.

Luke hovered on top of me, arms rested on either side of me, and returned to another lip lock. My arms went around his neck as I tried to pull him closer to me. He pushed my legs apart, so that way he was in between them.

"You don't smell like you," he said when we pulled away to breathe.

"If you're asking for a shower together, too bad," I snapped. "I already had mine for the day."

"Who said anything about showering?" Luke glanced down in between us. "You're wearing my jeans."

"Th-They were the first jeans I grabbed."

"... May I have them back then?" My face turned red when he asked that, and then he chuckled. "I mean, you're shorter than I am, and I need them to leave. Unless you want me to walk around with only a shirt and boxers."

"Oh. Yeah, okay." Before I could start to unbutton the jeans Luke pressed his lips back onto mine. His knees supported him up as he straddled me and he moved his lips from mine to my cheek and then to my neck.

I bit back a moan as he began biting and sucking my neck. I felt his hands push mine away from where they rested on the hem of the jeans. His fingers worked to unbutton them and then started pulling the zipper down.

His thumbs hooked into the pants and my shorts and began tugging them off.

"Luke, hold on," I panted, grabbing at the waistband of my shorts to keep them in place and from sliding anymore. "You're taking my shorts off, too."

"I know," he breathed onto my neck. I moved his hands away with my own, so that they only held onto the jeans. He attached his lips back onto my neck and this time bit down harder.

"Luke, that hurts!" I cried out.

He only chuckled, his response being, "My bad."

A knock was heard at the door and he immediately jumped off of me. I kicked his jeans off of me and he quickly picked them up, putting them on as quickly as one could put on skinny jeans.

He hopped onto his bed, grabbing his phone off the nightstand and pretending he was using it. I knelt down by the outlet and just poked at my phone charger before I looked at my phone to see how much percentage it had.

Then the door swung open, revealing Calum and Ashton with food that I assume was our breakfast.

"I would've opened the door right away, but we didn't want to walk in on something," Ashton explained, biting the inside of his cheek.

"We weren't doing anything anyway," Luke replied, his eyes still on his phone.

"Which totally explains why we heard Mikey, yelling that something hurts," Calum said.

I kept staring at my phone, which was on eleven percent, as my face turned red. I think Luke's face might be red well.

"Here's breakfast," Ashton spoke up, clearing his throat. "Then go and pack your stuff so we can hit the road and go home. I'mma go help Cal with his things." I looked up at him and Calum and they plopped the food onto the bed Luke was on before they left.

"Damn it, Luke," I muttered once the two had gone. "You couldn't wait any longer, could you?"

"You liked it, green bean," he smirked. I threw my pillow at him and then pulled a pair of jeans out of my bag. After that Luke and I sat on his bed and began eating our breakfast, which was some barbecue pork buns and hot dog bun. Luke took the hot do bun and bit off most of the bread and just...

I pushed him off the bed for the second time that morning, and I didn't even feel bad about this one.


	24. Chapter 24

After breakfast Luke returned to his and Calum's room while Ashton came back to ours.

"So," I heard Ashton say, "you and Luke."

"What about us?" I asked, collecting all of my belongings and just shoving them in my bag.

"Did you enjoy your second night together?"

I looked at Ashton with wide eyes. "You left on purpose?"

"Well, I did leave on purpose, but not for whatever reason you're thinking of. I was just going to talk to Calum, that's all. I ended up falling asleep there. I was really going to head back, honestly."

"Sure you were. Some best friend you are."

"Hey, if I stayed, then you two wouldn't have had sex in bed."

"Oh, my God, Ashton. We didn't have sex!"

"The come on your sheets say otherwise."

My eyes went large as I looked over at the sheets on the bed. I furrowed my eyebrows when I didn't see anything before I heard Ashton start laughing.

"There's nothing there, but I think your reaction's enough proof that you and Luke did do something last night." I glared over at him, grabbed a pillow from my bed, and threw it right at him. He easily dodged it, much to my disappointment. "Stop stalling and pack up! I want to be on my way home already!"

"Calm your nonexistent mammaries, Ashton, I'm packing!" I shouted, just stuffing everything in my bag. The last item I put in my bag was the weird green bobble head Luke wanted me to get. It's not as special as the pebble he gave me, mainly because this bobble head was merely a suggestion Luke made just so he could get the penguin bobble head. Even the seashell is worth more to me than the bobble head.

Speaking of the seashell, I went over to the nightstand where the shell was placed and then brought it to my bag, so I could put it in the small pocket where the pebble Luke gave me was.

"Hey, Mikey, you done packing yet?" Ashton asked.

"Um, I think I am," I answered, looking around to see if any of my belongings were scattered still. I glanced back at Ashton and nodded. "Yep, I'm done."

"Okay, I'm still packing, but I need to talk to Luke. So can you go to his and Calum's room and get him in here?"

"Yeah, okay." I walked over to the door and walked out barefooted. Once I got to the others' room, I knocked a couple of times before stepping back. The door opened and revealed a shirtless Calum.

"Mikey!" Calum exclaimed. "Why are you here? I thought you were packing?"

"I finished," I said. "Um, where's Luke?"

"He's in the bathroom, showering right now. So you're here for him?"

"Ashton wants to talk to him. I don't know why, but he does."

"Oh, I see." Calum went over to the bathroom door and started banging his fist against it. "You've been summoned by Ashton Fletcher Irwin, so get your ass over to him!"

"My ass belongs to green bean and green bean alone!" Luke shouted back. I felt my cheeks heat up and I covered my face with my hands, shaking my head.

"He's here, you know!"

"Ashton?"

"No, your precious green bean!"

"What?!" Then I heard something that sounded like crashing inside and I tried holding back my laughter. Either Luke fell or he knocked something over, but both was still funny to imagine.

More noises were heard on the other side of the door and suddenly it swung open, revealing Luke holding a towel to cover his... area. And he was drenched in water from head to toe. I turned away, walking over to a wall and pressing my face against it.

"Aw, is Mikey get hard seeing naked Luke?" Calum cooed, poking my side.

"Don't touch him, Cal," Luke hissed. "So what are you doing here?"

"Are you deaf? I just told you, Ashton's asking for you!"

'"Calum, shut up."

"Just go to Ashton already. Sheesh."

"I need to get dressed. Do you want me to walk around and taint the innocence of little girls?"

While the two were talking, I slowly made my way deeper into the room and sat on a bed so my back was facing them. I kind of just tuned them out after I heard some kind of whipping sound and Calum yelling at Luke for hitting him with a towel.

I sat there patiently on the bed, rarely paying attention to the shouting between Luke and Calum followed by a door slam and some pounding on the door. I turned around and saw that Calum was yelling at Luke who had ran back into the restroom.

Yep, those two are definitely the best of friends.

Calum huffed before he stormed over to me and taking a seat beside me. He extended his arm out at me and whined, "Luke hit me with his towel. You should do something about him."

"Like what?" I asked.

"I don't know. Maybe you could tie his hands together and do some strip tease in front of him and-" I pushed Calum and he fell onto the ground.

"You and Luke have something in common: you're both perverts."

Calum got up and lied on the bed on his stomach. "Luke learns from the best." Then he mouthed 'me' while pointing at himself. So I rolled him off the bed again, this time earning a groan from Calum.

Luke walked out, wearing only black skinny jeans. He was in the process of pulling his shirt over his head, and I couldn't help but stare at his bare chest while it was still before me.

My eyes snapped up to his face when he pulled the shirt down and smoothed it out. He ran his fingers through his wet hair as he started walking over, but stopped when he saw Calum on the ground.

He pointed at him, "What happened to him?"

I shrugged innocently. "Nothing," I said. Calum rolled onto his back, his face looking as if he was in pain.

"Your boyfriend is evil," he complained. "You should punish him."

"Mikey's being naughty?" Luke tsked. "Yeah, he definitely deserves a punishment."

"Bye, guys!" I exclaimed, jumping off the bed and sprinting for the door, but then Luke managed to grab me by the waist and pull me back towards him.

"Where do you think you're going?" he whispered into my ear.

Suddenly Luke and I were pushed apart as Calum walked in between me and Luke, chanting out, "Make room for Jesus!"

"Dude, can't Jesus find somewhere else to chill?" Luke groaned, shoving Calum away and pulling me back to him. "There's all this space in this room, so why between me and green bean?"

"One does not question Jesus!" Calum snapped his fingers sassily and Luke just shook his head while I was holding back my laughter.

"I guess I'll just go over to Ashton now." Luke looked at me before pressing a quick kiss to my cheek and releasing me. "See you two in a bit! Love you, green bean!" He picked up his room key from the nightstand, went over to the door to slip on his shoes and then left the room.

"Okay, green bean. Be a good peasant and pack my stuff," Calum ordered, jumping onto his bed and placing his arms behind his head as he close his eyes.

"I will not hesitate to push you off the bed, Calum," I said, "and you can't call me green bean."

"Aww, why not? Luke calls you that."

"Yeah, only Luke can call me that. Come up with your own nickname for me."

"Okay." The room was silent for a few seconds until Calum shouted, "My asparagus! Let us cuddle before Luke comes back to kill me when he sees you in my arms!"

"That's even worse than green bean!" I laughed. "Can't you just stick with Mikey?"

"But my broccoli!"

"Stop with the names!"

"My kale!"

"Calum, can you not?!"

"My bok choy!"

I ran right at Calum and he screamed, hopping off of his bed, only to somehow trip and land face first into the carpet. I fell onto the bed he was just on, laughing so hard that my stomach started to hurt.

"Oh, my God! You're such a klutz!" I cackled, tears starting to form in my eyes from how hard I was laughing.

Suddenly Calum pounced on top of me, pinning my wrists down on the bed and straddling me, but I was too busy laughing from when he face planted the ground.

"Stop laughing, lettuce head!" he shouted. As much as I'd like to stop laughing, this was all too funny to me.

"I-I can't!" I laughed out loud. "My stomach hurts! Oh, my God! Can you fall again?"

"That wasn't funny, cucumber!"

"No-No more green food!" One of his hands left my wrist and slapped over my mouth, but I was still laughing behind his hand.

Soon my laughter was starting to die down and Calum pulled his hand away, placing it right on top of mine. When I looked up at Calum he had such a serious look on his face that it immediately made me shut up.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked.

"Shh, don't say anything," he whispered, licking his lips as his face started coming closer to mine. My eyes widened when I realized what was happening.

"C-Calum, don't!" 

Then his hand smacked my forehead hard.

"Ow!" I yelled, shutting my eyes and rubbing where he hit me with my palm.

"Got it!" he exclaimed. I peeked an eye open and saw that he was smiling down at his hand. Then he practically shoved his hand in my face and I stared at whatever he wanted me to look at.

"What-What am I looking at?" I asked.

"A midge. It's dead now. I just saved your life, spinach. You should be eternally grateful."

The door cracked open and my and Calum's eyes looked over at it, seeing Ashton poke his head inside. When he saw us, he widened his eyes and then immediately shut the door.

"Ashton!" I heard Luke shout, laughing after. I pushed Calum off of me and he almost fell onto the ground again (damn it). I sat upright and ran my fingers through my hair and Calum sat beside me.

Soon Luke opened the door, a wide smile on his face.

"Green bean!" he exclaimed, running over to me and pulling me into his arms. His hair was still wet and it was brushing against the side of my face. Also, there were some water droplets that fell from the ends of his hair and onto me.

"Luke, you're getting me wet," I complained.

"That's how it should be."

I groaned and started pushing him away, but he held on and didn't budge. Then he pulled away and stole a kiss from me before standing straighter and walking over to Ashton. They started talking about something, but I couldn't hear them. I glanced over at Calum who was just staring down at his crossed legs and playing with his toes.

"So," I began, "bok choy?"

He looked up at me. "What about it?"

"Getting in touch with your Asian side?"

"God damn it, Mikey." He gave me a shove and I laughed.

"So we're back to Mikey now?"

"... Yeah, whatever, Mikey."


	25. Chapter 25

Calum can spend ten minutes trying to convince Ashton to help him pack up, but he can't take a minute to do it himself. Luke and I were lying on the bed, wrapped in each other's arms while Ashton kept telling Calum to get Frederick to do the cleaning for him.

Then Calum started tearing the room apart, looking for the damn seashell.

"You can make a mess of the room for a seashell, but you can't pick up your clothes off the ground?!" Ashton exclaimed, trying to hold back his laughter.

"Frederick, where hast thou gone?!" Calum shouted, ignoring Ashton. Luke pulled away and sat upright, his hand going into his pocket. Whatever he pulled out, he quickly hid it from Calum's sight and then he showed it to me.

"You're really mean to Calum," I whispered to Luke as I stared at Frederick and rolled onto my back.

He shrugged before saying, "This is barely anything. You should see how I really mess with Calum."

"I don't think I want to see." Luke chuckled before pushing the seashell under the pillow and hovering his upper body over me, using his arms to keep himself up. He pressed a kiss to my forehead before he started trailing down so he was kissing me right beside my lips.

Suddenly a hand forced its way in between my and Luke's face and pushed Luke away. "Frederick?! Are you here?!"

"God damn it, Calum!" Luke shouted. "You're not going to find your seashell between our faces!"

"I'm searching every inch of this room! I wish I could remember where I put her." Luke groaned in annoyance and pushed Calum away, making the brunet frown and sit on the carpet. "Why are you so mean to me, Luke? I bet you took her, huh? You always take everything from me!"

My eyes widened at Calum's sudden outburst and I looked over at Luke who seemed to either look annoyed or guilty.

"Calum," I heard Ashton say as he made his way over to Calum who was glaring at Luke. He knelt beside him and placed his hand on Calum's shoulder. He leaned close to his ear and started whispering something. Luke and I literally fell silent, trying to listen to what Ashton was telling Calum.

When Ashton pulled away Calum nodded and the two stood up and started going to the balcony, pulling the curtains down and sliding the door closed once they were out. Luke scurried out of the bed, pulling the seashell from its hiding spot, and placed the object on the nightstand. Instead of returning to the bed he crept closer to the balcony.

I sighed and sat upright, getting up off the bed and heading over to Luke.

Then I asked him, "What are you do-"

"Shh!" he interrupted me, slapping his hand over my mouth. The both of us remained quiet as our attention was on our two best friends. Luke slowly and silently drew the curtains slightly and opened the door so we could hear them.

"Do we need to talk again?" I heard Ashton ask Calum who just shook his head.

"No, I'm fine now," he answered. "I guess I just... need to get some fresh air. Thanks for taking me out. I would've blown up at Luke, if I were to stay in there any longer."

I felt Luke tug at my arm. "Maybe we should go," he said, but I swatted his arm away. I'm interested in what Calum and Ashton are talking about. "Don't be nosy, Michael."

"You were the one who stood here in the first place," I snapped back, my attention returning to the others.

"... everyone from me," Calum said and I cursed myself for missing the first part of what he said. "It's like, I don't know, he gets everything while I'm left with nothing. He gets all the ladies, guys..." Calum paused for a moment, sighing before continuing. "... him."

"Mikey, let's go," Luke began, "please." But I stood where I was, not even moving one bit.

Ashton spoke up, "I thought you told me you were over him, that you had someone else on your mind?"

"I-I am and I do," Calum said, resting his elbows on the balcony edge and burying his face in his hands, "but it still hurts. It's like everyone chooses Luke over me."

"... Well, I'm choosing you over Luke."

My eyes widened and jaw dropped as Calum looked over at Ashton who was shifting awkwardly on his feet. He seemed as if he was debating whether to make another move or not.

"St-Stop lying," Calum said to Ashton. Ashton stepped closer to the brunet, cupping his face with his hands and started bringing his face closer to his. "You don't... choose... me..."

"But I do," Ashton said in a whisper that was loud enough for me to hear. Then their eyes slowly closed and I sucked in a breath as their lips were slowly coming together.

I could tell that Luke was interested once again in what was going on as well, because now he was behind me and had an arm wrapped around my waist, his chin hooked over my shoulder. The both of us peeked at our best friends and I clapped a hand over my mouth to prevent myself from making any noise that'd give our position away. Even Luke brought a hand up to his face and started biting down on his index joint.

"Calum," Ashton said in a hushed tone, "I... love..."

But Calum seemed to have snapped back to reality, for his eyes went large and he shook his head, pulling away from Ashton.

I heard Luke grumble, "Fucktard," when Calum turned his head away from Ashton.

"You can't," Calum said. "You can't like me, Ashton."

Ashton furrowed his eyebrows before he dropped his arms to his side and twisted himself around so he was facing away from the brunet.

"You're right," he said. "I can't like you."

My chest hurt at those words, even though they weren't directed to me. I think it's because, what I'm witnessing has me at the edge of my seat- or, in this case, leaning forward against the glass door with Luke's chest pressed against my back who was cursing at Calum's stupidity.

I could see the pain in Calum's eyes when Ashton said that. He looked down at the ground, seeming as if he was trying to fight back tears that threatened to fall.

"I'm sorry, Ashton," he choked, his voice breaking, "I really am-" But he was suddenly cut off when Ashton grabbed his face and abruptly pressed their lips together without any warning.

I inhaled deeply and Luke literally slapped his hand over my face, shielding my eyes from the scene. I tugged his hand down so my eyes were no longer covered.

Calum looked surprised when Ashton started to kiss him, but he eventually returned it, his arms going around Ashton's neck and his eyes closing. Ashton's hands moved from Calum's face to his waist and they pulled each other closer.

After a while they slowly broke the kiss and just stared into each other's eyes, brown and hazel meeting (cliche, but I don't give a damn). The two were taking in deep breaths as their eyes just locked together.

"You... just kissed me," Calum breathed.

"I'm aware of that," Ashton chuckled.

"Why?" God damn it, Calum. Ashton just fucking kissed you and you're asking him why?! Even I can see why. It's because-

"It's because I love you, Calum."

Luke was bouncing behind me, his arm around my waist tightening and I wanted to laugh at his reaction at all of this, but then Ashton and Calum would hear us.

"B-But you said you c-couldn't like me," Calum pointed out as a tear betrayed him and started sliding down his cheek.

Ashton noticed the tear and wiped it away with his thumb. "The reason why I can't like you is because I love you."

That's so cheesy, but it's still making me feel all soft and fluffy inside. Both of Luke's arms were now around me and he started hugging me and silently squealing.

Luke whispered to me, "This is too much for me to handle."

I chuckled, "Then let's leave them be-"

"No. I want to see more." I just shrugged and we looked back to our best friends.

I watched as Calum wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and then wrapped his arms around Ashton and buried his face into his shoulder.

"You scared me," Calum mumbled, using Ashton's shirt to get rid of his tears. It didn't seem like Ashton cared. He returned the hug and began rubbing circles into Calum's back. "I thought you meant you didn't feel that way about me at all."

"I'm sorry," Ashton responded. "I can tell I scared you; your heart's racing. I know you, Cal. Even though others think you're this confident person, you really don't value yourself at all. You refuse to believe anyone likes you, because you're always comparing yourself to Luke and your mind is always thinking that you can never be better than he is. But to me, you're better than anyone in the entire universe."

"Ashton-"

"Don't say anything. Let me finish. Those who chose Luke over you don't know what they're missing. Even Mikey doesn't know what he's missing."

My eyes widened at the mention of my name. What I got out of that was, Calum... liked me? Did Luke know about it? If he did, then I guess it'd explain all of those times when Luke would get mad at Calum whenever he and I were alone.

It's because Luke was afraid that Calum would take me away from him. But it seems to me that Luke's been taking everyone from Calum, and I felt bad for the brunet, because, like everyone else Calum liked, I went to Luke instead.

Ashton continued, "But I'm glad that Mikey missed his chance with you, because then I wouldn't have you all to myself." I could hear the soft crying from Calum and Ashton whispered that everything was okay. The brunet pulled away and wiped his cheeks, but Ashton's hands never left his waist.

"Ashton?" he asked.

"Yeah, Cal?"

"Do you really choose me over Luke?"

Ashton laughed and nodded. "Of course. Now, can you answer some questions for me?" Calum nodded, sniffling. "Am I that someone else who's on your mind?"

Hesitating, Calum looked down in between them before nodding his head. "Yes," he answered.

"So you love me?"

"I do love you."

"You love me more than anyone? Even Frederick?"

That last part got Calum to laugh and he rested his head on Ashton's shoulder, his face pushed into the crook of his neck. I could see the smile form on Calum's face as he let out a sigh.

"More than anyone, even Frederick." Ashton lifted Calum's head up so they were now facing each other and their lips met again.

I wrapped my arms around myself, watching the two in awe. But when my arms did go around me I realized that Luke was no longer behind me. I turned myself around and saw him lying on his bed, holding Frederick up and looking at her. I went over to him and sat on the edge, one leg resting on my other.

"I feel like a horrible friend," Luke commented. "I took everyone from Calum, even you, because I was selfish and only thought of what I wanted instead of his wants."

"Did you know he liked me?" I asked Luke and he nodded.

"In fact, he told me he liked you, but that was way before I started feeling the same way towards you. But when I started to like you I told him about it, his feelings never once crossing my mind at that time. He reminded me that he liked you as well, but he promised me that he wouldn't make a move on you and help me make you mine, because he valued our friendship way more." Luke bit his bottom lip as he let out a sigh. "I'm such an asshole to him. I should treat him better."

"Luke, everything's fine now. Calum's better now, because he has Ashton who deserves him way more than anyone else in the world. Calum may have been upset about you stealing everyone away from him, but he doesn't only look at that- he looks at the big picture. I can tell he's the kind of person who's willing to forgive and forget. You are his best friend and no matter what you do to him, he will always stay by your side. I can tell he's very loyal to you. You're very lucky to have a friend like him."

"He didn't seem to forgive me for taking the people he liked," Luke mumbled, twirling Frederick around with his fingers.

"But you're still his best friend. He's someone you should never let go of." He glanced up at me from Frederick before he set the seashell down and sat upright.

"Why do you like me?" he asked. "Calum deserves you way more than I do, so why did you fall for me? I was an even bigger asshole to you than I was to him."

"But I don't deserve Calum," I said. "You were a dick to me, but that's not why I like you. While we were on this trip there were times when you were nice to me for once and it had me thinking that you weren't such a bad person after all. That was, until after some of those times you started acting like a douche again. Despite you being an asshole to me, the nice things you did overruled them and along the way I started to fall for you."

Luke was looking down at his fingers that were playing with one another. He didn't seem too pleased with my answer, so I decided to tell him some things.

"Remember when we went to that pancake restaurant? You sat beside me for a little bit and let me listen to a song, Fallout, on your phone. Then there was the time when I didn't eat anything and you gave your breakfast to Ashton and he handed it to me. You were willing to skip eating breakfast just so I wouldn't have to."

"Yeah, I remember that," Luke said, but then realization struck him. "Wait. You knew that I gave my breakfast to you? Did Ashton tell you? Because I specifically told him not to tell you."

I laughed, "He didn't say anything. I put the pieces together. Anyway, there was also the time when we were playing Egyptian Ratscrew at one of the stops and we were actually enjoying ourselves. I forgot for a moment that we didn't like each other."

"Well, you didn't like me. I had feelings for you back then. And when our hands touched when that double came up, I felt butterflies in my stomach." I could feel my face start heating a bit, but I continued bringing up more moments.

"There was also that one time when Calum pushed me off the cliff and you jumped in to save me and gave me CPR."

"I was very angry with Calum that time," Luke growled, causing me to smile.

"Remember when that one girl came up to the car and you barked at her to go away? That's probably the only time that you defended me."

"She was a real thirsty bitch," Luke growled. "That second time when she came back to our table and she was flirting with you again, it really pissed me off. So I did what I had to do: I picked up this small ranch bowl from this table that had been cleared of people except for the food and I threw it at her."

I started to laugh out loud. "That was you? Because that was perfect!"

Luke bowed, earning another laugh to escape from me. "Thank you." I pressed a kiss to his cheek and a small blush formed on his face.

"Two days ago," I started again, "when we were searching the beach for a seashell for Calum, you and I were together and I found this one seashell. I thought you were going to give it to Calum, but instead you gave it to me."

"Well, you did find it, so I thought it was best that you keep it," Luke pointed out.

"And that night when there was a thunderstorm and I was scared, you were there to hold me throughout the storm."

"Yeah, that was my favorite moment. I got to cuddle with you for the first time." I raised an eyebrow at him. "I-I mean protect you! Protect you from the storm, because I'm very brave like that. Yeah, brave Luke is brave."

I just rolled my eyes at him and I started scooting closer to him until I was sitting right beside him, my hand inching its way over to his that was resting flat against the bed. "Later on that same night, you confessed to me-"

"- After Calum said he'd take you from me," Luke sighed. "Knowing that he had feelings for you, I wasn't going to allow him to take you to his room. It was a huge risk to confess to you, but everything ended up well. And we had our first kiss." I rested my head against his shoulder and his head rested upon mine, his fingers interlacing with mine. "And you told me to call you mine."

"But then you thought everything was a dream the following morning and Calum slapped you," I laughed.

"Because everything felt so unreal, I was sure it had to be a dream," Luke explained. "But since you guys told me it actually happened and that it wasn't a dream, it made me happy. It meant that you were actually mine." It was silent for a moment before I thought of something that I wanted to share with him.

"You know what my all time favorite was?" I asked him and he shook his head.

"No, tell me."

"When you gave me a pebble and told me why you were giving it to me. I thought it was very adorable. To others it may just be a mere pebble, but to us it holds something very special. I will forever treasure the pebble that you gave me."

"That pebble means I love you. You're mine and you will always be mine." The both of us were now smiling at this point, but Luke's quickly vanished. "But I still don't understand why you chose me over Calum."

"It just kind of happened." I moved myself away from my spot next to Luke, so I could straddle his legs and sit on his lap, his arms going around my waist and bringing me closer to him. "But it doesn't matter now. Calum and Ashton have one another and we have each other." I leaned in and placed my lips against his and he instantly started kissing me back.

"Mmm yeah," he hummed, his tongue licking my lips. His hand started moving up my shirt, but I pulled away and shook my head.

"Not now or else things might go out of hand."

"Then I guess I'll have to take you into my hands, yeah?" His hand started sliding from my waist to in between my legs, but I was quick to stand up and get away from him.

"Another time, Lucifer," I winked at him.

"I'll be looking forward to it until then, green bean," he smirked. Calum and Ashton finally walked into the room from the balcony, laughing with each other. Luke quickly picked Frederick up and made his way over to Calum. "Hey, look who I found."

Calum gasped and took the seashell from Luke's possession. "Frederick!" he exclaimed, kissing her. I noticed that Ashton was feigning a jealous look and I couldn't help but smile at that. "I missed you, Frederick! I love you so much! I'm never losing you again!"

"But you love me more than Frederick, right?" Ashton spoke up, earning a glance from Calum who giggled in response.

"Yeah, I do." Even though the two were trying to make it seem as if they were playing around, Luke and I both knew that they meant more than that. "Now help me pack up, please, Ashton? The sooner we leave, the sooner we get home."

"So, uh, Calum?" Luke started and Calum turned to look at him. "We are cool, right?"

"Yes, but I'm cooler than you."

"No, I mean, we're still best friends? There's nothing wrong between us?" Luke bit his bottom lip, worried that his friendship with Calum might be in jeopardy.

He looked very surprised when Calum gave him a hug before he drew himself away.

"Why wouldn't we be best friends?" Calum asked happily. "It's going to take a lot to get rid of me, you know, Lucas." With that Calum went over to his bag and put Frederick in a secure pocket and he and Ashton started collecting his things that were scattered around the room. I took a seat back on Luke's bed and Luke did the same. We looked at each other at the same time and ended up laughing a bit.

"I never thought I'd ever have you become mine," Luke confessed. "I thought we'd always stay enemies."

"I thought the same," I said. "I thought we'd never become friends, let alone boyfriends."

"We both thought we had no chance."

"But that was proven wrong when you and I got together." We held each other's gaze before our faces got closer and closer and we were kissing once again. This one was a passionate kiss and it was probably one of the best kisses I've ever had in my life. Well, Luke was my first kiss, and I hope he'll be my last.

We pulled away and wrapped our arms around each other, cuddling as we watched Calum and Ashton playfully argue with one another about what to do with Calum's belongings.

"I love you, green bean," Luke said to me and I smiled.

"I love you, too, Luke," I said back.

Luke Hemmings, once my worst enemy is now my first boyfriend. There was no way, no chance that I'm ever letting him go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of No Chance.
> 
> Epilogue is next, along with a special chapter.


	26. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: An epilogue is finally posted. You guys better enjoy this.

Days later we finally made it back to Sydney in one piece, thank God for that. We encountered a lot of problems on the way back.

The car broke down once and we were stuck on the side of the road for three hours until someone finally came around to help us. Also Ashton almost got us into a car crash, thanks to Calum who was distracting him while he was driving, but I won't go into detail about how he was being a distraction. Let's just say that Calum really wants some.

Other than those problems Luke and Calum are on perfectly good terms, and I may or may not have accidentally let it slip to Calum that I overheard his talk with Ashton.

Ashton was a little bit upset about that, but Calum told him that it was okay and that I was going to find out eventually. Fortunately for us, our friendship didn't change, and I was really relieved with that. In fact, I think the four of us got even closer with one another.

This trip really changed my life and I'm glad that I went on it. If I didn't, I never would have become friends with Calum and Luke and I would still be in the stage where we threw insults at each other and such. He'd never become my boyfriend.

Never in my lifetime did I ever think that Luke Hemmings and I would get together. A few weeks ago the idea would be disturbing to me, but people change overtime, I suppose.

It was a late Friday night and Ashton pulled the car into his driveway. He finally put the car on park before killing the engine and let out a sigh.

"We're home," he announced, closing his eyes for a brief moment. "What an adventure we all had."

"We should do it again," Calum said, giving Ashton a kiss on the cheek. "Do you need help getting inside, babe?"

"Getting inside you would be nice," Ashton grumbled, earning a slap from Calum. Ashton jolted awake, rubbing sleep from his eyes and started climbing out of the car. Calum was quick to get out first and help Ashton inside his place.

Luke had fallen asleep during the car ride and his head was in my lap, his quiet breathing now the only thing heard.

I ran my fingers through his hair and I'd get him to purr once in a while. I leaned against the headrest of my seat and closed my eyes, just taking in the silence.

"Green bean?" I heard Luke mumble minutes later. I opened my eyes and looked down at him as he stared up at me. "We're back?"

"Yeah," I answered. "We're at Ashton's place." Luke sat upright and rubbed his eyes. He took in the surrounding and then he raised a hand up to his mouth to cover his yawn. He moved closer to me so he could take up more of my lap and then he was back to sleeping.

"Are Cal and Ash inside?" he asked and I nodded, but then I mentally smacked myself in the forehead, because his eyes are closed and he won't see me.

"Yeah, they are," I said.

"Good." He sat upright and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me down with him. I yelped as I ended up on top of him and he gave me a kiss on the cheek. "We're alone together."

"Please don't tell me you're going to do what I think you're going to do."

"Do you really think I'd have sex with you where people could see us?"

"Yes! You make yourself seem like that kind of person!"

Luke chuckled, "You're kind of right."

Catching me by surprise, he attached our lips together and I was wide-eyed at first. My mind was soon able to process what was just happening and I began kissing him back.

Without breaking the kiss Luke flipped us around so that I was underneath him and he was in between my legs. One of his hands slipped from my back and moved to the waistline of my jeans.

As soon as Luke's hand at my groin area the door swung open and we looked to see Calum, but we never left our position.

"Oh, good. You two are awake now," Calum said. "Now you two can go inside and sleep. Or... continue where you left off."

"Well, my boner just died," Luke commented and I laughed.

"Do you want bok choy to help bring it back to life again?" Luke raised an eyebrow at him.

"Bok choy? What the hell is that?"

"Calum, I could've sworn I heard Ashton calling for you!" I exclaimed and he was gullible enough to run off back into the house.

Luke was quick about pressing his lips to mine before his hand gave a small squeeze to my lower half, resulting in me intaking a sharp gasp. He laughed, got off of me, and sprinted out of the car and towards the house.

"What the hell, Luke?!" I shouted at him, climbing out of the vehicle as well and shutting the door before I ran after him. When I got inside the house a pair of arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me backwards until my back was pressed against something, no doubt Luke's body. He was hiding behind the wall and he was waiting for me to go after him so he could surprise me again.

"Missed me already?" he said in this calm, not-at-all seductive voice.

"No. Go away," I groaned, trying to push myself away from him, but he just held onto me tightly.

"You ran after me, and now you're telling me to go away?"

"Yes. I'm going to go sleep in the guest bedroom."

"Okay. Let's sleep together."

"Yeah, whatever." His arms slipped around me and then we started making our way towards the guest room. It wasn't until the both of us had entered the place and I shut the door did I realize what I had agreed to. "Wait, what?!" Luke sat down on the bed and started pulling off his shirt right before me. "W-We're doing it now?"

"You said you were tired," Luke said, "so yes, we're going to sleep now."

Oh. He meant that sleep together. Well, in that case, why not?

I immediately climbed into the bed and lied on my side, so my back was to Luke. I threw the covers over me, too lazy to get out of my clothes. Also I didn't feel like stripping while Luke was in the same room.

"You're going to sleep like that?" he asked. "You're okay with the clothes clinging to you while you sleep?"

"I'm too lazy to get out of them," I answered, closing my eyes and trying to fall asleep.

After hearing and feeling Luke shuffle around I felt his hand slip under my shirt and my eyes darted open and I pulled myself out of the bed and staring at Luke who was only wearing his shorts.

"Don't take advantage of me!" I shouted, but he just looked calm and motioned for me to come back.

"Sorry," Luke said, "I was trying to help you out of your clothes, because you said you were too lazy to do it yourself."

"That doesn't mean I want you to do it for me!"

"So, you'll do it yourself?"

"If you look away, then yes."

Luke just laughed before he made his back face me. "You're such a girl." I rolled my eyes and started pulling off my upper clothes. "I guess that's why I'm the man in this relationship."

I stopped halfway before I released my shirt and looked at Luke. "Whoa, back it up. Since when were you the dominant one?" I asked.

"Since the beginning. Do you need some kind of test to see who's more dominant than the other?" He stood up from the bed and made his way over to me. "Touch me."

"Luke, I'm not doing that! Go back to the bed and leave me in peace."

"See, that sounds like something that a submissive person would say. You don't want to touch me, because you're too embarrassed to, am I right?"

"No, you're not. I just don't think now's an appropriate time. Now seriously, step away from me." Luke did the exact opposite of what I had asked him, his arms going around my waist and pulling me towards him.

"I've no problem with touching you," he said to me, his face leaning closer and closer to mine until our noses were brushing one another. He then pushed his lips onto mine and he grabbed the hem of my shirt and started lifting it up.

The brief moment we took a break from kissing was when he had to get the article of clothing over my head. He discarded my shirt onto the floor and moved his lips from mine, so he could start kissing my neck. I tilted my head to the side for him to have better access. His hands were on my hips and he starting moving himself around me, the kissing to my neck never stopping.

Once he was behind me his hands left my side to the button of my jeans, working to pop it open. When Luke had successfully unbuttoned and unzipped my jeans his thumbs hooked into my shorts and started pulling both my shorts and jeans down.

My fingers wrapped around his wrists, preventing him from going anymore. His lips detached from my skin and he just looked at me, confused.

"Just the pants," I said to him. "The jeans can come off."

"Okay," he responded, readjusting his hands so that he was now only able to remove my jeans. He slid them down and I helped out a little bit. Once my jeans were pooled by my ankles I stepped out of them and Luke led me towards the bed.

"We're not doing anything tonight," I reminded Luke.

"I know," he said. "You said you're tired, so we can just, you know, fall asleep in each other's arms. I just wanted to make sure you weren't uncomfortable with the layers of clothes you had on you before." Luke got into the bed and I followed after, his arms immediately going around me. My head was right under his chin, so I pressed my face against his chest and our legs tangled each other.

"Good night, Luke," I said a little bit above a whisper. "I love you."

"Sweet dreams, green bean," I heard Luke say as he kissed the top of my head. "I love you, too."

If it was even possible, I snuggled closer to him, a smile forming on my face. Feeling safe and protected in Luke's arms, I started thinking of Luke, someone who I never thought would become my boyfriend until the road trip he, Calum, Ashton, and I had just returned from. I'm glad that Luke and I went on the road trip, because if we didn't then we wouldn't be here with each other.

I was able to peacefully drift to sleep, the last thing on my mind being my ex enemy and my current boyfriend: Luke Hemmings.


	27. Luke's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's this freak named Michael Clifford at my school and he's weird on so many levels. I can't stand that guy. He hates me, I hate him back, nothing more. Then the idiot I call my best friend, Calum Hood, thought it was a good idea to invite me to this road trip while his friend, Ashton Irwin, invited the freak. And I'm expected to spend a week with him? Yeah, there's no chance that I, Luke Hemmings, am going to enjoy this trip as long as the freak is coming along.
> 
> Well, okay, there's a small chance, but nobody needs to know that- not even the freak himself.
> 
> -
> 
> AN: You see that up there? If I was going to rewrite No Chance in Luke's POV, that would've been the summary.
> 
> Enjoy a little bit of Luke's POV (; There's a yum-yum scene in here and it's sandwiched in between two sets of asterisks (******). To skip it, find the second one and read on after that (:

What in the... who is that guy?

That guy looks weird.

Who dyes their hair green? Apparently, that freak over there.

I wonder if anyone has told him how strange his hair is. If no one has, then I'll be the first.

I strolled over to the green-haired guy. He was searching inside his locker, so he didn't seem to notice me. I leaned against the locker beside him and cleared my throat. He still didn't turn around, though.

"What's with the hair, mate?" I asked him.

"Got a problem with it?" he snapped back, not moving away from his locker to look at me. Now I was getting a bit irritated.

"It's weird. What are you really? Ginger? Brunet?"

"Blond."

"What's your name?"

"Nunya." I raised an eyebrow. What kind of a name is that? "Nunya business." Oh. I should've seen that one coming.

"You're a sassy one, aren't you?"

Then he shut his locker and began walking off. He's probably annoyed by me, but now he's walking away and not even paying any attention to me. How dare he stroll away from me without answering my question?

I thought of something to say, just to piss the guy off. "Whatever, go walk off in your stupid hair and clothes!" I shouted at him. He stopped where he was and I grinned. That sure got his attention. Then he turned around, glaring at me. His eyes looked at me from top to bottom. He's probably checking me out.

But then he began to storm up to me. He was only a foot away from me and then he jabbed a finger into my chest.

"We have the same taste in style," he hissed. "What makes mine so stupid?"

"The fact that your hair is stupid," I answered nonchalantly. Then I smirked. "You should just shave your head."

"Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"Luke Hemmings. Got it memorized? I doubt you'll ever forget it."

"You're pretty fucking cocky."

"I am pretty when I'm fucking at all."

He didn't even say anything. He just let out this frustrated groan before storming off, walking up to this one kid with curly hair named Ashton, I think.

Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, Luke!" I recognize that voice anywhere.

I twisted around to meet my best friend, Calum. We pretty much have known each other since we were kids. I won't go into detail about how we met. Calum thinks it's too embarrassing to share.

Well, I'll tell just a little bit of it.

_It was when I was about six years old. I lived in a neighborhood where all the houses looked the same, and the only way to differentiate the houses was to look at the house number._

_It was around ten at night and I was in the living room with my mom and brothers. We were just talking and laughing with one another until the front door flew open, revealing an Asian looking kid walking in._

_The entire room went silent as the kid ignored us and disappeared into the hallway that lead to the rooms. I stood up from my spot on the ground and followed after the boy, despite my mom's protests._

_I've no idea why some Asian kid walked into my home, but it was weird how he acted as if this was all normal. He walked into my room with me behind him and he climbed into my bed, rolling himself up in my TMNT blanket._

_I slowly made my way closer to the kid and poked his side._

_"Are you lost," I asked, "or just stupid?"_

_Suddenly the kid bolted awake and stared at me with wide eyes._

_"Who are you?!" he exclaimed and I laughed._

_"I'm Luke, and you are?"_

_"C-Calum..."_

_"Well, Calum, you're in my bed."_

_"I am?" Calum raised an eyebrow at me._

_"Yeah. You just walked into my house like you owned the place."_

_"Oh, my gosh! I'm sorry! I'll go!"_

_"Wait!" I grabbed his wrist as he went over to my door. "Not yet. We were just becoming friends."_

_"W-We were?" Calum questioned. I gave him a friendly nod and jumped onto my bed, patting the spot beside me. He hesitated at first before he decided to sit next to me._

_"Yeah. Tell me about yourself."_

_For the past half hour Calum and I talked about ourselves and we instantly became best friends that way. We laughed and joked as we introduced ourselves._

_Calum told me he was turning seven soon and that he wasn't Asian, which I found weird, because he looked like he was. I thought he was lying to me, but I pretended to believe that he was Kiwi and Scottish._

_I also found out the reason why Calum came into our house was because he just moved into the one next door a few days ago and he was returning from a relative's place, energy completely drained from him. He must've been so tired he entered the wrong house._

_We made a pact that night that we would never mention Calum's little mistake, because he was too humiliated by it, but I like it, and I still do. I like it, because that was how I met my best friend._

_Then my mom walked into the room, telling me that a lady was here to pick up her child that had mistakenly walked into our home._

_I asked Calum's mom if she was Asian, and all she did was laugh._

_Ever since then, every single day Calum would come over to my place or I'd go to his and we would hang out with each other._

Okay, that's more than a little bit, but that's the story of how Calum and I became best friends. It's been ten years and we're still as close as ever.

"Hey, Cal," I greeted. "Did you know there's a weirdo with green hair?"

"Hm?" he hummed, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, him. I've seen him around school. I can't say anything about him, because I know nothing of him."

"How come I've never seen him around before?"

Calum just shrugged. "No idea, but I think he's cute. I don't know how you didn't notice him."

"Ew, Calum, no. I know you're gay and all, but you can't like him."

He frowned at me. "Why not? He's got a nice face, body, as-" I gagged and he immediately shut himself up before saying, "Sorry, let's just get to class." I nodded before he and I began heading off to our first class, Maths.

I know for a fact that I'm going to hate every single one of my classes. I have all my years I've been in school, so what makes this year any different? The only time I ever like my classes is if I have them with Calum.

Other than that, Geometry can go kill itself for all I care.

-

My classes are whatever so far. It's only the beginning of the school year, but I know that they will be horrible as the year progresses.

So I just had Maths, Science, and History so far. Now I'm going to be heading to my English class. Calum and I only shared the same Maths and Science class, and then after we went our separate ways.

Now I'm going to my English class with Mrs. Twist. I've heard of her before. She's super nice and doesn't believe in homework. Maybe I'll enjoy the class.

When I walked into the classroom it was almost fille with students and the only spot empty was... the one behind the kid with green hair.

Well, isn't this a lovely surprise.

He didn't seem to notice that I was in the same class as he was, so I took this chance to get into the seat behind him unnoticed. He was too busy on his phone doing whatever freaks like him do.

I got myself situated in my seat and the bell rang, signaling that class was to start. The teacher stood up from her spot at her desk and walked up to the front of the classroom. She introduced herself and then she said that she was going to call our names to see who was here and who wasn't.

As the names went on I didn't really pay much attention. That was, until it came to him.

"Michael Clifford," said Mrs. Twist and then the freak named Michael raised his hand.

"Here," he answered and I rolled my eyes, leaning back into my chair. The name definitely fits him.

After that I tuned out the teacher until my name was called.

"Luke Hemmings."

Michael's head snapped up at the sound of my name and I smirked. I leaned forward, so I was close enough to him.

"Here," I said, "right behind Clifford."

No one but Michael seemed to have noticed nor cared that I was practically talking in his ear. He turned himself around and his green eyes went large when he saw me. I waved at him and then he groaned and twisted himself back around.

Once Mrs. Twist finished going over the names she announced, "I hope you're happy where you're sitting, because the seats you are in will be your seats for the rest of the year."

Perfect.

-

"Clifford, aren't you supposed to be at the barber?" I asked Michael when I followed him out of the classroom and to lunch.

"Leave me the fuck alone, Hemsworth," he hissed.

"Hemmings, but you were close. I think your hair is eating up your intelligence."

"Great, so my hair's smarter than you." I pushed him against the lockers and was practically an inch from his face.

"You better watch yourself, Clifford, or else something ugly is going to happen," I growled.

"I think something ugly already happened, and it has me up against the lockers," he grinned. I just scoffed at him and gave him one last shove before storming off.

God damn that bastard, Michael. He just made it to the top of my Hate list.

-

"Calum, fuck no. How the hell can you have a crush on the freak?" I hissed, glaring at my best friend who looked a bit nervous.

"I-I don't know, it just happened," he answered, blushing a bit. I let out an annoyed sigh, shaking my head.

"Of all the people you could've chosen to have a crush on, why did it have to be Clifford?"

"His name is Michael!" I raised my hands up at him and looked around to see some people staring at us and I gave them apologetic looks. I turned my attention back to Calum.

"Okay, calm yourself, you Kiwi. No need to get defensive," I said to him, picking up my water bottle and drinking out of it. Calum leaned on his arm and just let out a sigh, seeming as if he was staring off into space. I glanced behind me and saw the freak himself talking to Ashton. I've no problem with Ashton whatsoever, but the green haired guy is the one that really ticks me off.

Then I just realized that Calum was staring at Michael. I shivered before standing up and picking up my lunch tray. My best friend in love with the freak? That's disgusting. I think I'm going to hurl.

"Calum, you're staring," I told him, but he didn't respond. I sighed and started walking off. "If you need me, I'll be in the restroom throwing up my lunch, because of your stupid crush."

"Good luck with that," was all he said. Stupid Calum and his stupid crush on Clifford. Stupid Clifford for making my stupid friend fall for him. I don't understand how anyone could like a freak like him. There are better people out there for Calum, so why did he have to like that hair dye loving freak? That's something beyond my knowledge.

While I was walking Aleisha, who was this girl that has the fattest crush on me stopped me in my tracks.

"Hey, Lukey!" she exclaimed, holding her arms out at me. I know she's expecting me to hug her, but I just pushed my tray at her and she took it, a shocked look on her face.

"Take this to the trash, will ya? Thanks for offering, Felicia," I said, giving her a pat on the head and walking off.

"It's Aleisha!" I heard her shout out. Yeah, like I give two shits about that.

-

For weeks now every time Michael and I encountered one another somewhere we would constantly snap at each other with remarks regarding one's appearance or personality. I've apparently adopted the name 'brat' and he's got the title 'freak.'

Calum has been trying to get me to stop, but everything Michael does irritates me and I just feel the need to comment something that'd piss him off even more.

Ever since running into that freak he's been the only thing on my mind. And by that, I mean I wish he would just disappear from the face of this planet. His entire existence, not just his actions, annoys the absolute shit out of me.

Michael's best friend has been trying to get Michael to ignore me. As strange as it sounds, I'd rather have Michael say something to me instead of pretending that I don't exist in his life. I say something to him, he says something to me. That's how it has always been and nothing's going to change that.

******

"Yo, freak!" I called out in the empty halls as I stomped my way towards Michael. He turned around and gave me this look that he has never given me before. It wasn't full of hate like his green eyes always showed, but it was the complete opposite.

"Hey, babe," he said with a wink, causing me to stop in my tracks. Did he just call me what I think he called me? I shook my head and pushed the thought aside.

"I see you still haven't shave your head," I told him. He just giggled and strutted his way over to me. He fucking strutted!

"It's because then you can tug on it when we have some yummy time together," he said and my eyes shot open. What the hell is wrong with this guy?

"I'm not going to touch that dog you call your hair."

"If my hair's a dog, does that make me your bitch?" He stopped right in front of me and trailed his fingers up from my stomach to my chest. He slid his hands onto my shoulder and started bringing his face close to mine.

My first instinct was to push him away. "What the hell's wrong with you, Clifford?! We're supposed to hate each other!" He just fucking giggled again before he connected his lips to my neck, and a moan I couldn't control escaped from me.

"For someone who hates me, you seem to be liking this," Michael commented, his hand slipping down in between my legs and grabbing at my groin. I bit my bottom lip as he rubbed my lower half and sucked on my neck. I didn't realize that my hands had went around him and were resting on his behind.

"M-Michael," I groaned and he slowly removed his lips from my neck, blowing a gentle breath to it and sending shivers up and down my back. His hand on my now hard-on didn't stop rubbing.

"Take me," he whispered. "Right here. Right now."

And that was enough for me to slam his back against the lockers and attack his lips with mine. His hands were now grabbing at my shoulders and I was in between his legs, holding him up with my hips and my arms under his thighs. His feet crossed at the ankles behind me as he and I hungrily and desperately kissed the hell out of one another.

Fearing that someone else might see us, I led Michael to the nurse's office that so we could get a bed. The room was conveniently close by, unlocked, and empty of anyone but me and Michael.

During that time we had to take a break from our hot make out session, but I was quick to put my lips over his again once the both of us were lying on a bed with me on top of him and in between his legs. Without breaking the kiss I started unbuttoning his jeans and he lifted his hips up so I could easily slide them down along with his shorts. My hands went to undo the flannel that he was wearing, but it got so frustrating I gave up and decided that I could manage with the upper layer on.

I wanted to try something else, so I detached our lips and lowered myself so that Michael's length was right in front of my face, taunting me to take the whole damn thing and shove it in my mouth. He was so fucking big and I wondered how it'd all fit in my mouth.

"This is so wrong," I mumbled, glancing up at Michael who was panting hard.

"Then I don't want to be right," he responded and I couldn't help but grin. I like this Michael.

I took in his length and I looked up at him as I licked his hard-on and bobbed back and forth. His head was thrown back and a loud moan escaped from him as he arched his back. His hand went to my hair, grabbing a handful of it and attempting to bring my head back down on his hard-on. Normally, I'd be pissed if someone was going to ruin my hair, but at the moment I didn't give a flying fuck.

I pulled my head away from his length and Michael glanced at me, his expression looking needy as I kitten licked his tip.

"L-Luke," he moaned, "get in me."

He doesn't have to tell me twice.

I went back up and started pulling down my jeans and shorts in one go and I helped Michael completely remove his bottom layer of clothes off of him so he could wrap his legs around my waist.

"No condom or lube," I told him. "Are you sure about this?"

"Fuck, Luke, just fuck me already!" Shit, he's so demanding, and it's fucking hot. I positioned my length so it was lined up to his hole and I gave him no warning before I pushed into him.

His arms were wrapped around my neck, pulling me closer to him and his face was twisted into this expression of pleasure. I hissed at how tight he was around me, but it was nothing compared to the pain I was giving him.

I grunted as I thrusted into him a few times, telling him to relax a bit. All I got from him were gasps and choked cries escaping him and he practically was hugging me, like that'd help ease the pain. He wanted me to do this, and I'm just giving what he wanted. However, I can't say that I didn't want this.

"Are you okay, Mikey?" I asked, seeing him nod.

"Y-Yes," he managed to say. He pulled away from me and I saw that there were tears coming down from his green eyes. I brought myself to kiss his tears away, slowly pushing more into him, fearing that I'd hurt him again, but he'd wince for every push that I'd give him.

I hoped to distract him from the pain in his bum by kissing him hard as I started to fill him up. His fingers were digging into my back and tugging my hair, a moan emitting from the both of us.

Once I was all the way in I disconnected our lips and just looked into his eyes. Our sweaty foreheads were pressed against one another and a smile broke out onto his face.

"I love you, Luke," he breathed out, another tear slipping from his eyes.

I wiped that tear away with my thumb and smiled down at him. I couldn't stop myself before I responded with, "I do, too."

******

"NO, I DON'T!" I shouted, shooting up from where I was. I looked around my surroundings and saw that I was on the couch with a blanket draped over me. I pulled out my phone that was in my pocket to look at the time. It was about three in the morning. My family's sleep right now and I'm screaming at such an ungodly hour.

A sweat bead fell from my forehead and onto my hand and I wiped it away along with the ones that were still coming down my face.

Seriously, what the hell was that dream about? It was horrible, a nightmare! Why didn't the dream me push the freak away?

"I need to take a shower," I groaned to myself, moving off of the couch, only to feel a tight feeling in my jeans. "What the hell?"

I threw the covers off and turned on the flashlight on my phone and shined down at my jeans, seeing that I had a bulge in my pants.

"No! Bad little Luke!" I scolded. "Stay down!" I dropped my phone on the blanket and my hands went to push down the problem I had- not like it was going to help anyway.

I just had a nightmare. Why the hell do I have a boner?

Whatever, a boner's a boner. I guess this just proves I get hard over anything. I better take care of my problem.

-

"Hey, Luke! Sleep well last night?" Calum asked me that same morning.

No, I did not sleep well last night. In fact, I got a boner from a nightmare of me and the freak that you're crushing on.

"Yeah, I slept well," I lied as the both of us walked over to Calum's locker. Once we got to where we ewre getting to Calum opened up his locker and started pulling out the things he needed for Maths.

I leaned against the lockers by Calum's and took this time to think about what a horrible nightmare I had last night. After waking up I forgot a majority of what I dreamed about. All I know is that it was about me having sex with Michael, because he was being a little slut, wanting me inside him. The worst part of it was, in the dream I actually liked it.

I don't remember what faces he made under me, because I don't remember every little detail in my dream. But for some reason, I was thinking about what he would look like if we were to... actually... do the deed...

No, little Luke, you are not going to rise again!

I didn't realize I was staring at nothing in particular ahead me until I saw a familiar head of green hair and I froze in place as my stomach felt funny and my heart raced. Even my friend in my pants began twitching at the sight of Michael. He was walking with Ashton, but I could only focus on the smile on his face and- this isn't good for me at all.

Something inside me told me to run to the boys' restroom, and that's exactly what I did.

I ran into the first empty stall I could find and locked myself in there, sitting on the toilet seat and mentally freaking out.

"Don't panic, Luke," I said to myself. "Don't panic!"

But I was too late, because my heart was pounding uncontrollably and I couldn't seem to get my breathing to even out. Just seeing Michael made me feel this way and think about that... dream of us last night. I've never felt this way about a girl. This is the first time I've ever had this panicky feeling, and it's towards a guy! Michael freaking Clifford, the freak!

This is really scaring me. I don't like this at all.

I should just... avoid Michael for a while. Whatever I'm feeling will go away by then and I can go back to hating him and such. Yeah, good thinking, Hemmings. Stay away from that freak with the green hair and green eyes and irresistible smile and really hot looking-

I just punched myself in the balls, because mini me was being naughty again.

-

It's been days and I'm still feeling the same feelings towards Michael like I had four days ago. This isn't good. This isn't good at all. I thought they'd be gone by now and that I was only confused, but I keep thinking of him. He's all that's on my mind, and not in an I-want-to-kill-him kind of way. More like an I-want-him kind of way.

I can't believe I'm going to admit this to myself, but... I think I'm falling for Michael Clifford.

I don't want to, but I can't just simply control my feelings. Nobody can do that, so what's the point on denying to myself.

That night after admitting to myself I lied in my bed, curled up into a ball and let tears fall from my eyes.

I liked Michael, but he hates me. He would never like me back, and that's a very painful feeling that I do not wish to feel.

Of all the people in the world, why did it have to be Michael?

-

"Luke? What happened to your eyes?" Calum asked, his eyes looking into mine. "They're all puffy and red."

"Calum, I have to tell you something very important," I said. We were standing at the side of the school where barely any students walked by, because I didn't want anyone else to see us- mostly me for what I might do in a matter of seconds.

"Okay, what is it?" he questioned, seeming interested in what I was about to tell him. I bit my lower lip and felt my eyes grow watery.

"I... I think- no, I know. I'm in love with Michael." I hid my face behind my hands and then just let the tears fall. I couldn't stop them and I hated that. I hate crying in front of someone, so that's why I had to tell Calum where no one would see me cry.

Suddenly I felt arms circle my body and I let myself cry into his shoulder.

"It's okay, Lukey," Calum cooed. "Everyone has a crush. There's nothing to cry about."

"I c-can't h-h-help it," I sobbed, hugging my best friend back. "The t-tears just st-started to f-f-fall."

"Just let it out. It's okay." We were silent for a moment and my eyes were really irritating me. It didn't help that I woke up with puffy red eyes, due to all the crying I did the night before. I just hope that no one will notice, but it might be hard to hide my eyes from anyone.

After my sobbing had calmed down I pulled away from Calum's embrace and now only hiccups were escaping me.

"I h-hate this," I managed to say. "I l-like him, b-but he d-doesn't f-feel the same w-way."

"Luke, because I am your best friend I'm going to make a promise with you," Calum said and I looked at him questioningly.

"Wh-What is it?"

"In case you've forgotten, I'm kind of in love with Michael, too." My eyes widened and I was about to say something, but Calum stopped me by placing his hand over my mouth. "But because I value our friendship way more than love, I promise you that I won't steal him away from you. I will do whatever I can to help you make him yours." I wanted to cry again, but Calum noticed the tears forming in my eyes again and used his thumb to wipe them away. "Now please don't cry. One day Michael will be yours."

I can't believe I forgot about his crush on Michael, but I'm even more shocked that he's willing to hold himself back just so I could go after him. I pulled Calum into a bear hug, spitting out a bunch of thank you's to him. He just chuckled and patted my back, saying that it was no big deal and that I always come first before anyone else.

I'm really lucky to have a best friend like Calum.

But... I have no confidence in myself that Michael would ever return my feelings. Even though Calum says he's going to help me, I'm afraid of being in love with Michael, because I've got no chance with him. He hates me and he's always going to hate me, but he wouldn't hate me if I just stopped bothering him and being a complete nuisance around him. I hate unrequited love.

Michael must never find out about my feelings, so how do I keep my feelings from being exposed to him?

I have to keep up the facade of hating him. I'm going to pretend that I hate him, just like I did before I started feeling this way.

I'm sorry, Calum, but even though you're going to try to help me out, I'm not going to attempt to make Michael mine, because there's no chance of Michael ever being mine.

He hates me. He'll always hate me.

Sadly, nothing's ever going to change that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: So here's Luke's POV for before the beginning of this story c: was this good enough for a Luke's POV? :D I actually completed this before the epilogue, lol, but I wanted this to show up after the epilogue c: yay.
> 
> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it and have a nice life c:


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